A Different Team Natsu
by The.Rayvenwolves
Summary: What if when Makarov brought Natsu to the guild, Cana was the first one he opened up to? What if she was the one to teach him instead of Erza? Well let's find out! Smarter Natsu. Stronger Natsu. Natsu x Cana. Rated M. (Oh, Natsu is Mavis and Zeref's son instead of Zeref's brother in this story).
1. Chapter 1

S.R: Once again we're back with another idea I had gotten while recovering from my concussion.

Natsu: Is it another story where you're pairing me with Cana?

S.R: Suck it up Natsu!

Natsu: Just do the damn disclaimer and move on to the story already.

S.R: Fine… Sheesh he has no patience.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL OR ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS.

* * *

"IGNEEL! IGNEEL YOU SCALY BASTARD WHERE'D YOU GO!"

A young voice screamed, loud enough to be heard throughout the entire forest. It belonged to a child with pink hair and onyx colored eyes. Running around in the massive clearing in the center of the forest, the boy searched for his adoptive father. Igneel the Fire Dragon King. His frustration at the missing dragon being enough for him to loose control over his magic, causing a massive heat wave in the area.

Because he wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings the young boy didn't notice that he was being watched until the short old man that was studying him spoke up.

"Excuse me, are you looking for someone?"

The voice startled the pink haired boy, enough to put him on the edge and ignore the question. Instead he reacted on instinct. Lashing out at the elderly man with a flaming fist he cried out "**Fire Dragon's Molten Fist**!"

The old mans eyes widened at the action. Because of the power behind the attack, and because it was Dragon Slayer magic. Which was extraordinarily rare. The heat given off by the flames was no joke. Though he was curious as to why they were such an ominous shade of red. But he was no push over. As a man who was recognized as a Wizard Saint, the ten strongest mages on the continent of Ishgar, he had the power to stand against the child. So he easily jumped away to dodge the fist.

At least that was his intention. He wanted to show the young man that he couldn't beat him and force him to calm down, so the old man let go of the tight hold he held over his magic. But the pink haired kid just growled.

"**Fire Dragon's Crushing Claw**!"

Swiping his right arm the boy unleashed another attack. This time the flames took the form of long claws at the tips of his fingers. Dodging the attack the old man was shocked at the damage the boy had done. The flames being hot enough to melt and gouge the ground where he'd been standing.

"**Fire Dragon's Explosive Roar**!"

Sucking in a quick breathe the boy unleashed an absolutely mindbogglingly large torrent of flames from his mouth. The sheer size, being enough to require the old man to use his magic to create a barrier to act as a shield while he escaped the blaze. The tree line behind him instantly going up in flames and becoming ash.

"**Fire Dragon's Eruption!"**

This time the boy slammed his palms against the ground. Which caused a light tremor before a pillar of fire burst forth from the ground underneath the old man. The heat the attack put off charred the ground, as the flames grew higher and higher.

"Dammit stop moving!"

The boy yelled as he charged the short man again. He punched towards the elderly man once more but the attack was different. This time it was named **Fire Dragon's ****Bursting Fist**. Unlike the previous punch, when his arm was fully extended the flames continued to blast forwards, bringing about even more destruction.

'_This kids already got this much destructive __capablility.__ He can't be more than 7 or 8 years old, and he's a__lready destroyed so much of the forest. Heck he doesn't even look winded, yet he's thrown around enough magic to __put him on the same level as Laxus__. __This brat has truly monstrous potential.__'_

Deciding he'd had enough of running around, the old man vanished from sight. Not even a full second latter he was behind the pink haired boy, with his arm enlarged enough to pin the kid to the ground. He struggled to break free, even lighting his body on fire in his attempt. But the old man had predicted the action and created a barrier around his hand to prevent being burned as he attempted to calm the kid down.

"Hey, brat relax. I'm not here to hurt you."

The boy just growled and thrashed about even harder. But when he realized he wasn't going to get free he gave in.

"What do you want?"

"I just want to know what a young man like yourself is doing out here in the forest."

He replied, starting simple. The old man had already decided his course of action. Now he just had to steer things the way he wanted the situation to go.

"I'm looking for my dad Igneel."

"Your dad brought you out here and disappeared?"

"Nope. We live in the forest. But when I woke up this morning he was gone."

The short man frowned at that. From the way things looked to him he had figured the kid was abandoned.

"Perhaps I can help you look for him."

"You'd help me find Igneel!?"

The boy shouted eagerly.

"Of course. What does he look like? It'll make it a lot easier to find him."

"Igneel is a giant red dragon. Oh wait, his stomach is a weird tan color. And he's got this cross shaped scar on his jaw."

"Wait, your father is a dragon?"

"Yeah."

The short man frowned as he crossed his arms.

"That makes it harder to find him then. I don't know anyone that has ever seen a dragon."

"Damn. Well I guess I should thank you for the offer to help find him..."

While the conversation hadn't gone the exact way he'd wanted it to the elderly mage saw that his idea would still work.

"Well I've got an idea then. I'm on my way back home from a meeting. You can come with me and join my guild. I mean you'll need money to travel and search for your father. My guild can help with that. Plus you'll have a home to return to."

"I don't know… I mean Igneel raised me in the forest so I have no idea what regular life is like."

"My guild and I can help with that. We are a family, and will do anything to support each other. Though we've got a few brats around your age that need to learn what that means still. You want help to find Igneel, I'm sure we'll eventually find him."

The man knew he was pushing really hard, but he couldn't just turn his back on the pink haired youth in front of him. The boy clearly needed a home and Fairy Tail was never group to turn people away. He could see it in the kids eyes, how much he was hurting to have been left behind by his father. But Fairy Tail could help him heal, and find a family to call his own so that he would never be alone.

"I guess that works… I'll join your guild or whatever you called it."

"I'm happy to hear that. Say, I don't think I asked your name yet. I'm Makarov. Makarov Dreyar."

Natsu nodded at the old mans words.

"I don't know why, but something tells me I can trust you. I'm Natsu Dragneel."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Natsu."

With that the old man let the boy up and canceled his magic, before they shook each others hands as a proper greeting.

"I have a few things to talk to you about as we walk towards the guild."

Makarov spoke, deciding he needed to make sure the young boy he was now traveling with could fit in with society. Natsu just nodded, a little eager to start the journey to what would become his new home.

**The Next Day**

The duo had finally reached the town known as Magnolia and were strolling down the street towards a large building.

"Now remember, you can't fight anyone in the guild with your magic. It's too dangerous."

Makarov spoke, though he wasn't too worried. Natsu seemed eager to find a way to learn to use his magic in a way that was safe for everyone. At least if he were to believe the boys words. When he explained to Natsu that one of the most important rules for a Fairy Tail mage was to never kill, the boy perked up slightly and responded.

"Well if you can teach me some regular **Fire** magic, I might be able to adapt it to my Dragon Slayer magic and make a weaker version that isn't as dangerous."

When he tried to ask the boy about why his fire was crimson colored instead of the usual orange that most **Fire** magics created his answer was a shrug. It wasn't until he thought about the magic itself that he realized why the pink haired brat had a special color for his flames. The red fire of his Dragon Slayer magic was far hotter than regular fire magic. It also seemed to have the ability to destroy weaker magic. At least that was the conclusion he came to when he watched the boy use his **Fire Dragon's Explosive Roar** to block a pillar created by **Earth** magic when they were attacked by a forest vulcan.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, the short man sighed as they stood in front of the two large doors that lead to his guild.

"Are you ready?"

"I'm all fired up!"

The boy responded with a cheer. Makarov chuckled at his eager attitude and led the boy inside. They were treated to quite the sight. A dark haired boy was sitting at a table and drinking some juice. Except he was shirtless. A red haired girl, and a white haired girl were struggling to over power each other, their hands locked together as they fought for dominance. A meek white haired boy and a little girl that looked similar to the slightly older looking white haired girl watched the two with fearful expressions.

A man with light brown hair was sitting on a stool at the bar counter smoking a pipe, while a dark blue haired man sat next to him. Natsu could just make out that they were telling a story to a little dark haired girl that was looking up to them from her seat at a nearby table.

"Alright listen up. This is Natsu and he's joining Fairy Tail!"

Makarov called out as they drew everyones attention when they entered. Several people cheered, though Natsu noticed that the one dark haired boy frowned. A couple people moved to introduce themselves but they were cut off by the short man.

"There is one thing you all need to know right now. I know some of you like to fight. Fighting with Natsu is off limits, at least until he learns to hold back. His magic is extremely destructive, and dangerous."

"I don't believe it gramps!"

The dark haired boy called out. Something about him just rubbed Natsu the wrong way.

"Can I show him please? It'll serve as a good warning for everyone else?"

Natsu pleaded with the short man.

"Natsu, If I wasn't as experienced as I was, you would have killed me in self defense yesterday. Given what you're magic is capable of, you would have to purposefully miss him just to avoid killing him."

Several people went wide eyed at that. The guild master had just admitted that the boy could have killed him with his magic after all. But the other boy refused to believe it. He wouldn't go against Makarov though so instead of forcing the issue he stormed out of the guild.

Since he could tell the two were never going to get along, Makarov sighed but moved on with the matter.

"Anyway all we have left to do is get you stamped with the guild mark and you'll be part of Fairy Tail."

Eagerly nodding his head Natsu rolled up his sleeve to reveal his right bicep. Which shocked the people that were close enough to see his arm. Natsu was really well muscled for a kid.

"Right here in red please!"

He spoke as Makarov grabbed the magic stamper that they used to mark the guild members. Nodding that he understood the short man pressed the stamp against Natsu's bicep and after a moment he pulled it away to reveal the red mark.

"Do fairies have tails? Do they even exist… The journey to discover the answer is a never ending adventure, just like this guild."

Makarov spoke, his words echoing the words of the original guild master when Fairy Tail was founded. A loud cheer went up at that.

"Alright! We've got a new member so let's party!"

He called out, which lead to an even louder cheer. While the adults all celebrated by getting drunk, the kids in the guild gathered around Natsu and Makarov. '_That's right. The brat did say he'd been raised in the forest. So he doesn't know much. Maybe I should have one of the others look after him.'_ the old man thought to himself as Natsu introduced himself to the others.

Mira was instantly arrogant towards him, despite the warning that Natsu was off limits. Erza tried to be rather forceful about their greeting, and Mira's younger siblings Elfman and Lisanna were a bit meek. Cana was the only normal one out of the group. Which Makarov picked up on. It helped that Natsu payed more attention to her than the other children.

"Oh that's right. Natsu Cana would you two follow me up to my office for a moment?"

The master butted in, getting nods from the two children. Since Natsu didn't know where to go he stuck close to Makarov, Cana did too, but that was more because the guild was starting to get a little rowdy and she knew he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. When they got to his office, he had Natsu shut the door behind him while he walked over to his bookshelf and began grabbing books.

"I've got a favor to ask of you Cana, and it involves Natsu here."

He spoke, not really wanting to waste time. Natsu figured it had something to do with his admittance that Igneel had raised him in a forest so he stayed silent.

"Okay?"

"When I found Natsu he was on his own. His father had disappeared. Anyway after I started talking to him, Natsu mentioned his dad raised him in the forest where I had found him. I don't know what all he was taught besides his magic, but since he doesn't really have any common sense, I was wondering if you would teach him?"

Cana went wide eyed as she heard Natsu's back story. It was similar to hers, at least in her young mind. With common ground like that she felt they would be able to get along just fine. Which would hopefully make it easier to teach him about things.

"I'll do it master."

Natsu smiled at her as he nodded his head in thanks.

"Thank you Cana. Anyway Natsu, you said you wanted to learn a simpler form of **Fire** magic so that you could adapt your regular magic and make it less dangerous right? I've got a few books here about different types of **Fire** magic. You can use them to help with that."

Makarov continued as he turned to face the two children with a small stack of books in his hands.

"Thanks gramps."

Natsu responded. It was a surprise to Cana and Makarov, that he'd decided to call him gramps instead of master. But when Natsu said he had already come to see the short old man as a grandfather they let it slide, since it was an affectionate nickname. Well Makarov did. Cana was just confused about how quickly Natsu had come to feel that way, since as far as she knew he'd only known the guild master for basically two days at that point. After that they left his office. When they got back down to the ground Floor Gray had returned from his sulking.

"I don't give a damn what Gramps said. I don't think you're strong enough to part of the guild!"

Erza went to punish him for speaking out of turn but Cana stopped her. Something about the look in Natsu's eye told her that the pink haired boy was going to prove his power even if it meant Makarov would yell at him later.

"You don't deserve to call yourself a mage if you can't tell just how outclassed you are."

Natsu commented, a slight edge to his voice. Since he wasn't allowed to actually use his magic to fight, he instead just let his magic run free rather than the tight control he kept over it. It was extremely tense in the room as Natsu steadily let the pressure from his magic rise. When it didn't stop where most people expected it too, they realized he might have been on the same level as Gray. When it got to Mira and Erza's top level from when they brawled a lot of people began to sweat '_If he's on their level then Gray is screwed!'_ a few people thought. But even then it kept going, rising and rising until Makarov stepped out of his office.

"Natsu! Relax. I know he's been rude, and you aren't allowed to fight him. But that doesn't mean you can push him around just by letting your magic flare."

"I might not be able to win in a fight against you gramps, but I will at least try if you don't stay out of this."

A lot of people were worried about that statement. They wondered if the kid was too prideful and arrogant. But Makarov knowing a bit about Dragon Slayers understood. Natsu was fundamentally different in several ways. The boy was more like a dragon than most would ever know.

"I know he's insulted your pride in ways that only you and I understand Natsu, but let me make a suggestion. You wanted to learn a less dangerous type of **Fire** magic right? Learn that first and then you may fight him to your hearts content."

Cana was the only person not shocked to hear the boy was a **Fire** mage of some sort. But that was only because she'd already heard that when they were in Makarov's office. Natsu sighed as he relaxed.

"Fine. But don't hold it against me if he still ends up hurt." He commented before leaving the guild. It was silent after that. Everyone wondering just how special Natsu's magic is.

"Gray, you are to avoid him until I say. If not I will not hold him back and he will end up killing, plain and simple."

Makarov warned him. Cana was extremely impressed by the feel of Natsu's magic pressure and so she spoke up after him.

"Master, just how strong is he? How powerful is his magic?"

He was silent as he contemplated it.

"He's at least on the same level as Laxus. But his magic? I'm not sure how strong it is since his magic is extremely rare. All I know is I'm extremely lucky. If it weren't for my age and all the experiences I've had in my life he would have easily killed me when we met."

The entire guild was shocked by the statement. The kid couldn't have been 10 yet he was able to match Laxus, who was out on a job. After all Laxus was 12 and already capable of becoming an S-Class wizard. He was the one person everyone int the guild agreed on being made S-Class when the trials came around.

'_If he's that strong then maybe he can help me._' Cana though to herself as she recalled the reason she joined Fairy Tail. With that thought in mind she left the guild to find him.

"Master said he was raised in a forest… so that should be the best place to look."

She whispered to herself as she ran into the forest. It wasn't hard to find him. She had followed the river to make it easier to get back to town if she got lost. But after a while she found his red shirt hanging off of a tree branch. A large boulder was sitting next to the river bend, a dozen yards ahead of her and Natsu was on top of it. Upside down. The pink haired boy was doing one handed push-ups on top of the boulder. His back was towards her and his shirt though.

Before Cana could approach he spoke up.

"I know you're there Cana. No need to be shy."

She blushed at being caught but walked over to him with his shirt in her hands.

"What's up?"

He asked with a grin. Cana was slightly red faced at the sight. '_he's got a cute smile_' she thought to herself.

"Um… I was wanting to talk to you."

She offered lamely.

"Oh yeah! Gramps did say something about you helping me learn common sense or something like that right?"

"Yeah, but that's not what I want to talk about okay?"

Nodding along Natsu walked towards the trees so he could sit in the shade. He patted the ground beside him as a signal to tell Cana to sit as well.

"I want you to listen to what I have to say. Please wait until I finish speaking okay?"

"Okay."

Taking a deep breath Cana started.

"My mom and dad split up before I was born. But my my died, and my dad never knew about me. I found out he was part of Fairy Tail so I came here to tell him about me…. But I can't do it…. He's considered the guild's Ace. The strongest mage in Fairy Tail. I-I don't think I'm worthy to be called his daughter."

She started to tear up a bit as she spoke. Natsu noticed and panicked. He didn't want her to cry so without really even thinking he pulled her close and hugged her. Without meaning to he was rubbing circles on her back with his hand as he tried to comfort her.

"Shhh…. Shhhh… It's alright. You don't need to cry. I'm here for you."

Sniffling Cana thanked Natsu for being so nice. He just responded that he'd been told Fairy Tail was a family, so he was doing what any family member should. Cana frowned at that but she didn't understand why. After a moment she asked Natsu the question she'd wanted to from the moment she left the guild looking for him.

"According to master you're really strong. You're really confident in yourself too. Would you help me get stronger and more confident in myself? I don't really feel worthy of being called Gildarts daughter. But if I got stronger and became more confident in myself I think I'd be able to tell him."

Natsu didn't recognize the name Gildarts, but he assumed that was the name of her dad. Which would make sense because she talked about him as if he wasn't in town, so of course he wouldn't recognize the name. But he smiled as he answered her.

"Of course! I'll help you with whatever you want!"

* * *

S.R: So you guys know all those stories about Erza teaching Natsu when he joined Fairy Tail? This is my version. Except it's Cana that teaches him and not Erza. But still... So we're getting a few chapters of them growing up before we get to the start of canon.


	2. Chapter 2

S.R: Okay, so I want to respond to the reviews, and since they were left by guests rather that people with accounts I have to answer this way since I can't PM them.

Review 1.

Here are the actual ages of the kids when Natsu joins:

Laxus: 16-17

Ezra and Mirant: 12

Natsu, Gray, Cana, Elfman: 11

Levy and Lissana: 10

Also Mira, Elfman and Lissana joined a few months after Natsu did. - Devilslayer

My reply: I didn't realize Laxus was four or five years older than Erza and Mira. I though he was only two years older (shows how much I pay attention to their ages). But yeah I know their ages are off in this story. It's technically an AU after all. Details can change because events sometimes happen at different points in time compared to the original. For example, rather than the Strauss siblings joining the guild after Natsu I've changed it to make Levy, Jet, and Droy the newcomers for their age group. I did this because of how I plan to change the dynamics between characters, since one thing I'm going to try and focus on more with this story is the guild and how they interact.

Review 2.

Good idea and a slightly Occ Natsu as he more prideful and belligerent than a immature goofy boy, but also very attuned with Cana emotions...What kind of Fire Magic he is gonna learn? cuz he could just practice a lot to control his magic… - Firedrakes

My reply: It makes sense after all. Natsu is a Dragon Slayer, and we're told time and time again just how different they are. And that they are more dragon like. So of course Natsu is going to be more prideful and belligerent. What self respecting dragon is going to let someone disrespect them?

As for being attuned to Cana's emotions well… Natsu can pick up on a the changes to a persons scent when they're distressed. We see it in canon a lot actually. He's very empathetic, which is something I'm going to bring to the front of his character in this story.

I'm not going to speak about the **Fire** magic I plan for him to learn, mostly because that's going to be revealed in this chapter. Plus it doesn't really matter since he's just going to mix it with his **Fire Dragon Slayer** magic to make a weaker level essentially. But I will explain why he can't just practice his control over his magic in this story. Normally I'd write it so that would be the thing to do, and say the more magic he uses for a spell the stronger the spell is. But I wanted to do something different with this story. In this story a persons control over their magic, just refines the process of casting the spell. In other words the better your control the easier it is to cast the spell with less and less magic. But the amount of magic you use does not change the results. Though it can change the size of the spell. i.e. Juvia can cast a spell to make a ball of water, and the more magic she uses to cast the spell the larger the ball of water will be. But the power behind it would be the same no matter what size the ball is.

S.R: Now then… I suppose I should get on with the story shouldn't I.

* * *

After Natsu's eager proclamation that he'd help Cana with whatever she wanted him to, the brunette blushed. She didn't know why but she was really happy about it. Of course since he jumped up to stand on his feet in excitement he didn't notice as her face flushed.

"Let's get started!"

He cheered as he turned and offered her a hand to stand up. After a moment she shyly accepted his help. After standing up she brushed the hem of her dress off, not wanting it to be dirty. Natsu just looked at her for a moment which caused her to worry something was wrong. But then he circled around her, lightly poking at her upper arms, her shins, and the small of her back. The last spot caused her to let out an 'eep!'

"W-what was that for!?"

She shouted a mix of confusion, anger, and embarrassment present in her voice.

"To get strong you have to work hard, not just with your magic but your body as well. I just wanted to see how strong your muscles are so I could figure out where to start."

"O-oh. I guess that makes sense."

She replied to his honest and forthcoming response. Once again she found herself confused by the pink haired boy. Natsu just nodded to himself, before pounding his fist into his palm.

"I've got it. But first we need to start stretching. You can't exercise properly or safely without stretching before and after."

Not wasting a moment Natsu reached out with both of his arms, one arm being raised up while the other was lowered. Then he reversed them, lowering the raised one, while raising the lowered one. Natsu did this a couple times before Cana joined in. Mostly because she didn't want to risk making him mad by just watching.

The next stretch they did was with their legs. Squatting slightly Natsu and Cana would lean to one side, fully stretching out a leg for a moment before leaning the other way and stretching the other leg. When Natsu was satisfied with that they stood back up they started the next stretch. Pulling one leg up behind their back with both hands on the foot they just stood their for a moment. But then Natsu spun so he could show Cana what he was doing with his hands and foot. Because of the joint that was his ankle he was using his hands to roll his foot.

"When you do this stretch you should do this as well. My dad, Igneel once told me that it's supposed to help strengthen your ankle and make it more flexible so that you don't sprain it as easily."

He explained, though Cana could tell by his words he didn't quite believe it himself. She smiled as she followed his lead though. '_Even though his dad disappeared, he must really care for him if he's still doing his stretches this way, without fully believing that it works like he was told.' _She thought to herself in surprise at just how much insight she was gaining into the unique person that was Natsu. They continued on with their stretching until the pink haired boy was satisfied.

"Alright next up. Let's do a few laps. We start here at the tree line and go around the boulder and back. I'm thinking… ten laps okay?"

He asked, letting Cana decide if it was possible for her to do that much. Mostly because he had no idea what her stamina was like. It wasn't a large distance, but five laps would be enough to wind anyone that wasn't used to running that much. Yet Natsu wanted to start with twice that. The brunette girl wasn't sure, but given how Natsu had guided her through the stretches she figured he had faith that she would be able to do it.

"I think I can do it. Though I might need to catch my breath after."

She responded, as they set the pace at a jog rather than a sprint. Each Lap however Natsu urged her to speed up. It wasn't until they were on their fourth lap that Cana realized that running this way would help with her stamina, but that it was also a way to help her run faster. When they finished with the tenth lap she doubled over, her hands on her knees as she panted heavily. Natsu just smiled proudly.

"I'm… I'm not sure… We have enough time to do more."

She commented, her breathing still choppy as she slowly tried to recover her breath. Her statement was valid as the sun was starting to set, casting any orangish red glow on their surroundings.

"Well we can always do more tomorrow."

Natsu responded as they quickly moved through their stretches again before they began walking back towards Magnolia. Even though Natsu intended to come back out into the forest and climb a tree to sleep in. But Cana was shivering slightly as the temperature cooled, so he walked her back. They weren't close enough to brush hands, but close enough that if Natsu let a bit of his magic out, it would warm her up a bit. Which is exactly what he did.

"This building is for girls only, but thanks for walking me back."

Cana commented when they stopped in front of the Fairy Hills dormitory.

"Alright. Hey, let's meet up back at that boulder tomorrow morning for training."

"Okay."

She replied, completely forgetting that she was supposed to be teaching Natsu common sense.

**The ****N****ext ****M****orning**

For some reason Cana was extremely excited to meet up with Natsu, rushing out of her dorm and passed Erza with a wave. The red head was confused as to why Cana rushed towards the forest rather than the guild, but she didn't make a big deal about it. Mostly because she felt it wasn't any of her business.

As Cana ran along the river, she had a sudden thought about how Natsu never gave a specific time. But in her eagerness to see him again and train she had already almost made it to the spot they were at the day before. Yet as she slowed down and walked towards the boulder she saw him already stretching.

"Morning Cana!"

He chirped, sounding wide awake and full of energy. While she had rushed towards their spot, Cana was still somewhat asleep and surprised by his energetic state. The other surprise was the stack of books the master had given him were on the ground next to him, but she figured he was just eager to learn new magic.

"Good morning Natsu."

"So, I was thinking we could do a bit of physical training like we tried to yesterday. Then take a break for lunch, and in the afternoon work on magic. Is that okay?"

Natsu commented, explaining his plans for the day as Cana started stretching beside him. It didn't take the long to finish stretching and run ten laps again. This time Cana wasn't as breathless as she was the day before.

"Alright now we're going to to do some push-ups. But until you think you're ready for more we'll do as many as we can in a minute, take a five minute break, and then another minute of push-ups until you've done a hundred."

Natsu explained. He chose to break it up this way because it was how Igneel did his training. But each day his training got harder and harder. Natsu wasn't a complete idiot and he knew that was because his body needed to be strong enough to handle his magic. So rather than push her as hard as Igneel pushed him Natsu decided to let her growth determine how fast he upped the difficulty. Even though he was working out beside her, Natsu did push himself however.

In one minute Cana did eight push-ups, while Natsu did thirty. The brunette girl ended up taking eleven cycles of one minute of push-ups then five minutes break. Panting heavily when she finished, Cana was shocked to see a proud smile on Natsu's face. Blushing heavily she asked what the next task would be.

"We'll sit here until you've recovered and then try the same thing with sit-ups."

It made sense to her, so Cana accepted his words while doubled over breathing heavily. When she finished her sit-ups, the sun was almost directly above them. Between the running, push-ups, and sit-ups they'd already been exercising for two and a half hours. Which blew Cana's mind when she realized. She was a bit disappointed to have taken that long to do as much as she had but when she frowned and mumbled about being weak Natsu grabbed her hands and made her look him in the eye.

"Hey, look at me. You're doing great. Any improvement at all is something to be happy about. Especially if you're able to do all this hard work despite being a kid. After all one of the things Igneel drilled into my head while he was teaching me was that a kid being able to do the same thing as an adult is amazing no matter how much time it takes. Sure those guys who were sitting at the bar yesterday may have taken fifteen or twenty minutes to do everything you've done so far. But that's expected. They are adults after all. By the time we're their age we should easily be able to do all of this in that amount of time. You are not weak. For a kid you're really strong to be able to do this much without giving up. Be proud of yourself."

What Cana didn't know was that the guild master had noticed the lack of herself and Natsu at the guild so he had come to find them. Hiding a short distance away he listened in on Natsu's speech with a proud smile. He was going to step in himself and say something, but Natsu surprised him by speaking up. He was going to walk away and let the two continue their training, but as he turned Natsu cut him off.

"Now am I right or what gramps?"

He chuckled to himself as he approached the two children with a smile. Cana was surprise to see him but Natsu just smiled.

"Natsu is correct. We grow stronger as we grow older. Which as Natsu pointed out, means that things become easier to do. But that doesn't mean hard work doesn't help or account for anything either. Take Natsu for example. In one minute he did thirty push-ups earlier. That's closer to the average bench mark for a fit 20 year old. Yet he's only 8 years old. I can only imagine how much he'll have improved by the time he's 20."

He and Natsu were both going to continue on and tell Cana not to get hung up on her abilities, but the sound of two stomachs growling cut him off. Natsu smiled while Cana flushed with embarrassment.

"Let's head over to the guild and get you two something to eat. It'll be about lunch time when we get there after all."

The old man said with a kind smile on his face. Cana and Natsu both followed him back to the guild, though as they walked Cana had a question. Even though he was eager to eat and already slightly drooling at the idea he was still paying enough attention to answer her.

"Natsu how did you know master was watching us?"

"Oh, my magic is fire related, but it also increased my senses. I can hear everything happening within a mile of my location right now. But my eyes are almost as keen as a hawks. My sense of smell is pretty good too. So basically I heard him coming, then I noticed the direction I thought I could smell him from, and I found him just by glancing that way."

Makarov chuckled, already knowing that. He might have surprised Natsu when they first met, but that's because the boy wasn't truly paying attention to his senses and he knew it. The pink haired boy was exceptionally observant. Cana just gasped at him, her face reminding him of a fish out of water for some reason.

"Speaking of magic I notice you have the books I lent you. Did you get started with them yet?"

The guild master queried.

"I tried… But I can't read them."

"You're dad taught you magic without teaching you how to read?! Did he not know how important it is to be able to read?!"

Cana exclaimed finding herself frustrated at the Natsu's father. Natsu pouted as he mumbled "but I do know how to read. Just not these letters."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Igneel taught me to read runes. He was going to teach me how to use a special form of magic with them but then he disappeared."

Natsu responded. Cana was surprised that he at least could read runes, though she knew that runes were much harder to understand than regular letters. Makarov just sighed, having a feeling Natsu wasn't talking about the runes Cana was thinking of.

"Well since you're helping me get stronger and more confident in myself, I'll help you learn to read. Plus you've still got to learn about common sense. Maybe tomorrow we can walk around town while I explain things for you."

The brunette commented with a smile. Natsu nodded, easily agreeing with her suggestion. The elderly man just chuckled to himself as he watched the two forming a very strong and tight bond with each other. When they got to the guild it was fairly empty, but neither of the children noticed. Natsu because he was eager to eat, and Cana because she was starting to feel exhausted from their morning training. But after they ate, Natsu dragged Cana back out to being working on her magic. Well more like he carried her, since they only got a few steps away from the guild before she complained about her legs hurting.

As he carried her back to what he called their 'secret spot' the pink haired boy explained what he wanted her to do. She was going to continuously create balls of pure magic in her hand and throw them away. For one, it was a way for her to get used to the feel of her magic. Since the exercise required her to repeat the action, it would also slowly become second nature to do it. Because he told her that it needed to be the same size as her palm, it would help her learn how much magic she needed to set and adjust the size of the ball. Cana was supposed to do this until her magic container was completely empty.

"But then I won't be able to do any magic practice tomorrow! Or even the day after!"

She exclaimed.

"Fully emptying your magic container is the only way to make it grow larger. Besides the more you empty your magic container the faster you'll recover your magic as your body gets used to the process."

Natsu had responded. Since he hadn't steered her wrong yet Cana believed him. Though she wondered how he could know that, and not things that were common sense. Then she remembered he was raised in a forest. Which lead her to remembering that his dad had disappeared on him.

"Hey Natsu? Did you join Fairy Tail to search for your dad?"

"Yup."

Cana couldn't help but ask about the boys father. She didn't know why but she wanted to know more about Natsu and his dad.

"Tell me about him. I want to help you find him. Mostly so I can give him a piece of my mind. What sane person raises a kid in a forest?"

"Well for starters Igneel is huge. He's got red scales covering his body, and yellow eyes."

Shaking her head Cana angrily told Natsu not to lie about Igneel's appearance. But Natsu retorted that he wasn't lying.

"Igneel isn't a human after all. I call him my dad, but the truth is he adopted me."

"Wait if he isn't a human then what is he?"

Cana wondered.

"Igneel's a dragon. The Fire Dragon King actually. Which means he's the king of all dragons."

After hearing that, she full heartedly believed Natsu's description of his adoptive father. She wanted to ask more about him, but around that point they made it back to the boulder by the river. Since she could always ask later, she pushed the idea to the back of her mind. But then she thought about what Natsu would do while she was working with her magic.

"Natsu what are you going to do while I'm training with my magic?"

She asked, getting a shrug in response.

"I can't work on mine because gramps would get mad at me since I haven't learned to make it less dangerous."

"Why don't I teach you how to read, and after we walk around town tomorrow we come back here and I work on my magic and you start reading those books the master let you borrow?"

She offered. Even though she really wanted to grow stronger, the brunette remembered that Natsu couldn't read letters. Natsu responded with an 'I guess that works' and instead of staying close to the boulder he walked back towards the trees so they could sit in the shade while Cana taught him how to read. Thanks to his observant and studious nature Natsu learned rather quickly, and by the time the sun was setting she was confident he'd be able to read most of the words in the book. Some of the longer and harder to pronounce words would probably give him trouble, but then he could just ask someone for help.

After Natsu helped her back to Fairy Hills for the night, Cana told him to meet her at the guild in the morning so they could walk around town for her to explain things. Which he did, though when they left to walk through town some of the adults were joking around about the two going on a date. Natsu was confused on what they were talking about but Cana was red faced, as she emphatically denied it. Since Natsu was actually pretty intelligent he picked up what Cana told him about things as they wondered the town.

When the afternoon came the duo found themselves back in the forest by the river. Cana sat down on top of the boulder to work on her magic with the directions Natsu had given her, while he sat in the shade a little ways off reading the books he'd borrowed from the guild master. Even though he only wanted to learn a different type of **Fire** magic so that he could adapt his **Dragon Slayer** magic to it and have a less dangerous type of magic, he found himself interested in a few different styles of magic from the books.

Over the course of the week that was how the two spent their time. One day they'd exercise in the morning and the afternoon would be devoted to teaching Natsu something new. The next they'd wonder around town for the morning as he learned how to interact with different people and in different ways. Only to return to the forest so Cana could work n her magic while Natsu read the books.

During their second week of doing things that way Natsu felt he had a good grasp of what the books talked about and began to work on magic along side Cana. Neither of the two knew it but he had so much natural talent that he was making even prodigies look bad with how quickly he learned and mastered the new **Fire** magic.

Because it wasn't as destructive as the other types of **Fire** magic the books mentioned Natsu had settled on a type of fire magic called **Fire Commandment** magic. The reason it was named that way was that the orange flames this type of magic created were able to do almost anything the user wanted. After Cana learned about it, she mentioned to Natsu that it seemed like it was the **Fire** magic equivalent of **Maker** magic.

**A Random Day A Few Weeks After Natsu Learned Fire Commandment Magic**

"Alright. Today's the day I try to mix my **Fire** magic."

Natsu cheered as he and Cana began working on their magic again.

"Oh? Does that mean I finally get to see the magic the master told you not to use?"

"Yup. But you should probably stand back. Like at least at the trees over there. It's going to get really hot."

"But your **Fire Commandment** magic isn't _that_ hot."

The brunette responded. For some reason she just wanted to stay close to him.

"I'm not using it right away. It's been a while since I used the magic Igneel taught me so I figured I should use a spell or two to warm up and make sure I haven't forgotten the feeling of shaping them."

Cana just mouthed an 'Oh'. If that's the case then she decided it would be smarter to listen to him and stay back. Natsu smiled when she listened and retreated to the trees. With a huge grin on his face as he set his stance he took a deep breath. Activating his magic, he cupped his hands together just past his mouth as he shouted '**Fire Dragon's Explosive Roar!**"

As he released his breath a massive torrent of crimson red flames burst forth. Luckily he was aiming up into the air so nothing would be burnt to ash. But the heat was still incredible as Cana started sweating almost instantly even though she was a good forty yards away from him. When the attack finished Natsu cheered 'I still got it.' as he fist pumped.

"What the heck was that Natsu? Those flames were so hot. I've never even seen such red fire before."

Cana yelled from her spot, unable to walk closer due to the heat.

"My magic. Well the magic that Igneel taught me. It's **Dragon Slayer** magic, specifically **Fire Dragon Slayer** magic. Supposedly it's strong enough to allow me to fight and kill a dragon. But I'd never do that. Dragons are awesome!"

Unable to handle his response Cana said nothing as she just stared at him. She understood why the guild master didn't want him to use that magic in a fight with someone from the guild. Just the heat alone would be enough to defeat most of them.

"Now to see if I can use that spell, but with the fire my **Fire Commandment** magic creates."

Natsu commented eagerly. This time he envisioned the spell in his mind as he repeated his former actions. Rather than the crimson color of the flames Igneel taught him to make, he envisioned the orange color of the new **Fire Commandment** magic he learned.

"It worked!"

Natsu happily yelled as his attack ended. The orange flames were much weaker than his crimson flames. But he noticed that it was still too strong of a spell. Before he could slump down dejectedly Cana came up with an idea.

"That attack is still too dangerous right? Because even with the weaker fire, it's still packing enough power to explode from you. Rather than put the explosive power into it why not make it just a simple roar?"

Since it wouldn't hurt to try Natsu followed her advice. Modifying his intentions with the spell from 'explode forth from my mouth to cause damage' to 'I deal damage by sending this fire from my mouth'. Also since it wasn't supposed to explode he dropped a word from the name of the spell.

"**Fire Dragon's Roar!**"

He cried, this time making the attack much weaker. Since both he and Cana felt that it was safe enough to be used without seriously harming someone at the very least Natsu tried once more, only he aimed at a tree across the river from him instead of up into the air. Where his previous version would have instantly destroyed the tree, just like his red flames would have. The simplified version of his attack only charred it. Though Natsu noticed that if he had let it go for another few seconds the tree would still be burning even after he cut the attack off. Deciding to go for broke, Natsu tried a different spell of his. Though with Cana's idea of making the attack simpler of course.

"**Fire Dragon's Fist**!"

While the massive rock was no longer massive having been turned to rubble, Natsu was somewhat pleased with the results. Any other version of that attack wouldn't have left a trace of the rock, not even pebbles.

Due to the orange flames not being as hot, the area surrounding Natsu cooled off significantly after he stopped using the crimson flames that his Dragon Slayer magic normally used. Because of that Cana was able to creep closer, and closer to the pink haired teen.

"Wow, that punch had to have been strong enough to break even dent piece of iron!"

She commented in awe of Natsu's strength. Natsu smiled at her. Since it was pretty close to being true he rolled with it. A grin on his face as he looked at Cana, who blushed lightly both from praising Natsu's strength and his response.

"That sounds awesome! I guess from now on that attack will be called **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist **instead."

* * *

S.R: This was supposed to be out an hour ago, but I kept changing the name of the **Fire** magic Natsu learned. I'd get so far along and my mind would go 'hey this sounds like a cool name for a type of magic, let's use it instead.' I mean the first version was **Orange Blaze. ** But then I was like nah '**Simple Flare** sounds a bit cooler. Then I thought '**Flame Sage**' sounded better. Finally I settled on '**Fire Commandment**' because fire is technically a living thing. And because it made more sense for what the magic was supposed to be. Basically it's the fire version of Gray's **Ice Make** magic.


	3. Chapter 3

S.R: Okay now to focus on this one for a bit now that I've made some headway with **The Unexpected Family**. This should be fun. Just a word of warning for Gray fans. He's a punching bag in this one. Especially this chapter. So is Mira (because I can't bring myself to have Natsu utterly stomp Erza just yet). But I shouldn't say anything else, I don't want to spoil it yet. OH yeah before I forget, I'm doing away with the label of Crimson Lotus as part of the Secret Arts that Natsu has. It just makes more sense to me to avoid that label since he'll still use the crimson flames with regular **Dragon Slayer **magic.

* * *

Even after creating his new form of **Fire Dragon Slayer** magic, Natsu spent a few days getting used to the feeling of the new flames, so that he could do it instinctively and not accidentally kill someone because he activated his crimson flames in the heat of the moment. Cana helped him of course, just as he continued to help her grow stronger and more confident in herself.

The best part is she even made it easier for him to differentiate which type of flame he was using. Because one day while practicing she asked him about the crimson flames.

"I'm not too sure. All I remember is Igneel told me that he and I are the only two beings in all of Earthland that could use them."

"Does that mean Igneel is special even among dragons? I mean beyond being the king of dragons."

She questioned, finding it interesting that Igneel could be so unique as to be able to make a type of fire that no one else could until he began teaching Natsu.

"Um, not that I know of. But I'd say being the king of all dragons is pretty special on it's own anyway..."

"So then wouldn't it be more appropriate to call yourself the Fire Dragon King Slayer? After all if he's the Dragon King and he taught you your magic, then it would make sense right?"

Natsu went wide eyed at the idea before shouting 'That's it!' he pulled Cana into a hug, which surprised her, but she didn't fight against it despite the blush that came across her face.

"Huh?"

"My orange flames from **Fire Commandment** can be my **Fire Dragon Slayer** magic, but when I want to use my crimson flames they can be **Fire Dragon King Slayer **magic."

"Oh. Yeah that makes sense."

Of course Cana after a moment she had a thought and questioned why Natsu couldn't just use the weaker moves with his crimson flames. After all a **Fire Dragon's Roar** was much weaker than a **Fire Dragon's Explosive Roar** with his orange flames, so it made sense that the same would be true for red fire.

But Makarov who had been watching over their training in secret, spoke up from behind her. Natsu wasn't surprised, having already known the man was watching over them when he could get away from the guild.

"Natsu's crimson flames are special. Even if he used a much weaker attack with them it wouldn't matter too much. They'd still generate the same level of heat, and they do have a very nasty surprise."

"What do you mean by 'nasty surprise' master?"

Cana asked after she recovered from the shock of the guild master appearing. Rather than say anything he created a simple yellow colored barrier in the air above them. Then he pulled Cana away to a safe distance and told Natsu to use the weakest attack he could with the crimson flames.

"Alright. **Fire Dragon King's Roar**!"

With that Cana watched in awe as Natsu's attack hit the yellow barrier the master had created, the power still surprising her. But her jaw dropped when she noticed the yellow shield was shrinking while Natsu's flames grew stronger.

"That is why I would still forbid him from using the crimson flames. Even if they collide with magic, so long as the amount is less than what he uses in his flames they will burn through it and strengthen themselves. It may be appropriate to call them the flames of a Fire Dragon King, as only someone on the same level as Natsu could survive just one attack that uses them. As it is magic grows stronger the more it's used, so by the time you two are teenagers I think the orange flames of his will be at this level power wise. But that'll be fine since they're not meant to be lethal. I wouldn't doubt it if his crimson flames were strong enough to match a Wizard Saint at that time..."

Natsu just smiled mischievously at the words. Makarov was underestimating him. But that was to be expected since Natsu hadn't shown him the full bag of tricks he possessed.

"Gramps, what would you say if I told you I could overpower you if only temporarily right now?"

"I'd say you're a cheeky brat if you think you could do so."

In response Natsu closed his eyes. The pressure from Natsu's magic skyrocketed rapidly before a pillar of flames surrounded him, while Natsu's magic continued to climb. He managed to peak at a level that was just above the guild masters maximum output. But before the old man could say or do anything the pink haired kid called out.

"I can only handle this form for about five minutes. After that I'm lucky if I don't instantly pass out."

Natsu's voice came out of the torrent of fire, before it receded to show his body covered in scales. Cana was completely floored by the power Natsu was showing them. Makarov was groaning in his head at just how ridiculous the pink haired brat in front of him was.

"The ultimate power of a Dragon Slayer. **Dragon Force**. When we have this power active our skin becomes as hard as dragon scales, our magic power is condensed, forcing it to become far more deadly. Our canine teeth and finger nails extend becoming small fangs and claws. Essentially we become human shaped dragons."

He explained, before taking a calming breath and forcing his power to settle down. As he returned to his base power level he fell to one knee panting heavily. Surprisingly to all of them even herself, Cana rushed forward to hold him steady and prevent him from falling to the ground completely.

"Damn. That really does take a lot out of me."

"It should brat. While I'm impressed that you have access to such a power at your age, I can tell your body isn't quite able to keep up. As it is I forbid you from using this **Dragon Force** of yours until it no longer causes a strain on your body."

"No… No problem…"

Natsu replied unevenly as he was still short of breath. After all Igneel had said something similar when he forcefully activated his **Dragon Force **for the first time. But then after the guild master spoke, he perked up eyes twinkling.

"Now. It's rather late so how about tomorrow you come to the guild and we celebrate the fact that you learned some new magic."

"Are you saying I can fight the others now!"

Natsu commented excitedly, his eagerness at being allowed to fight was the only reason he was able to speak without pausing to catch his breath. Cana was confused by the sudden spike in energy from the pink haired boy she was preventing from falling face first to the ground.

"Why are you so eager to fight?"

"Well I want to show that prick Gray or whatever his name was that he's wrong in calling me weak. Besides Igneel always told me the best way to improve is through fighting."

Natsu replied with a chuckle. Cana and Makarov frowned at the fact that he still hadn't forgiven Gray for being rude. Though the guild master at least understood why it was such a big deal to Natsu, especially now that he knew Igneel was the king of dragons.

**The Next Day**

Since the guild master had suggested that they celebrate Natsu's achievement with the guild Natsu and Cana decided to take the day off from training. Which meant they also slept in a bit, though they did rush towards the guild when an alarm went off. Running into each other just outside the guild hall Cana explained to the confused Natsu that Gildarts was the guild ace. She mentioned he was so strong that if he didn't concentrate on controlling his magic it would lash out and destroy the town, so to prevent the risk Magnolia had created a defensive program that would shift the city to give him a clear path to the guild.

"Didn't you say he's your dad too?"

Natsu asked, having remembered when Cana confessed to him about her situation. She just nodded shyly.

"I don't like it but I won't say anything."

He grumbled, as they walked into the guild. Since he had moved rather quickly the man was already at the guild when the walked in. Natsu was finally able to see the man that was Cana's father and the strongest member of the guild. He had slicked back orangish brown hair and a very stubbly looking chin. Natsu couldn't really tell what he was wearing since the man had a huge black cloak covering his body, but there was a tan traveling bag on the ground next to him, so he figured the man didn't really like to stay in one place.

Since they hadn't gotten to the guild yet Natsu and Cana were unaware of the fact the man had already been told about them by the guild master. Though the short man had overheard Cana's reason for asking Natsu to help her train he decided not to mention the connection between his guilds ace and the young brunette girl, as that was her personal matter. He was quite interested to see what the pink haired boy would do.

As Natsu and Cana made their way towards the guild master, they were interrupted, by Gray.

"So the pink haired freak finally decides to show himself. Gramps already said he'd given the okay for you to use magic… I think it's time to prove you don't belong here."

At that moment Natsu's magic was felt by everyone in the room. Causing most of them to sweat. Cana was unaffected since she was used to the feeling now, but she did shudder a bit as she noticed Natsu's eyes shifted to seem more reptilian.

"I don't mind if you fight now that I know you're not going to instantly kill him with one of your spells, but it's still a bit to destructive so let's take it outside!"

Makarov shouted as he'd seen it coming. The rest of the guild followed suit, interested in seeing just what the pink haired kid could do. Since most of them had forgotten that master had forbidden Natsu from using his original magic they didn't think he stood a chance against Gray. Cana, Makarov, and Gildarts being the only ones to make bets on Natsu.

"Tell you what since I'm feeling nice I'll let you have the first shot."

Natsu taunted, when the got to the clearing behind the guild. Gray growled in anger at being looked down on.

"I'LL SHOW YOU!"

He yelled before charging towards Natsu, who lazily ducked under the punch that was thrown at him. He was easily keeping up with the temperamental Gray which really surprised most of the guild. After a few minutes the dark haired boy was shirtless and panting heavily while Natsu was still breathing fine.

"I'm sorry I thought we were going to fight with magic. Do I need to show you what that looks like?"

"Screw you!"

Gray shouted as he brought his hands together and activated his magic, the temperature dropping a few degrees in his surroundings as a sword made of ice appeared in his hand. He swung it towards Natsu.

"**Ice Make: Sword**!"

Natsu caught it with a hand coated in fire.

"My turn. **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist**!"

Natsu commented before his free hand found itself lodged in Gray's stomach. The force lifted the other boy off the ground. In one fluid movement Natsu pulled his fist free and rotated his body to bring his foot down in an axel kick.

"**Fire Dragon's Talon**!"

With that Gray was forced to the ground which cratered from the force. When the dust settled everyone could see Natsu picking the **Ice Make** user off the ground. They were able to tell he'd knocked the dark haired boy out with the kick. Most of the guild was surprised to see just how easily Natsu had pulled it off.

"That was amazing!"

A girl shouted. As Natsu looked towards her he was slightly surprised. He didn't remember meeting her before, so he figured she must be new to the guild, but he was happy to see someone could understand he was awesome. But then Mira who was sitting behind the blue haired girl that had shouted out, push herself forward. The action threw the blue haired girl to the ground, yet she didn't say a word about it.

"So what, I could beat that weak stripper with my pinkie finger. You ain't so tough."

"Apologize to that girl you just pushed to the ground."

Natsu growled out in a challenging tone.

"Why should I?"

"If you don't I'll kick your ass just like I did his."

Natsu said as he gestured towards Gray who was thrown over his shoulder still.

"Pfft, like you could pinkie! I'd love to see you try!"

Before she could even blink Natsu was behind her. He shoved her with his palm into the clearing where he'd just fought Gray.

"Are you okay?"

He asked as he knelt down to help the blue haired girl up.

"Thank you. I'm okay. Just a bit dizzy."

He helped her sit down next to Cana before handing Gray to the guild master.

"Mind if I teach her some manners?"

Natsu thumbed over his shoulder to Mira who was watching this with a scowl.

"Go for it."

The short man responded. Which lead to several other members shouting out in protest.

"Are you sure master?"

"I know he beat Gray easily but Mira is on a completely different level."

The master just nodded towards Cana who spoke up.

"He's been helping me train since the day he came to the guild. I'm confident he could win against Mira."

At that point the young blonde man who was sitting just behind her and the guild master spoke up.

"So the runt's pretty strong then?"

"Laxus, I know what you're thinking and let me say this. Even with you're secret, he would still win."

Makarov commented cutting his grandson's thoughts short. Gildarts who was sitting next to him raised an eyebrow at that. '_Master just said the kid has some ridiculous power but he never told me just how strong the brat is.'_

"Oh are you finally ready to lose?"

Mira taunted when Natsu squared up with her. He just frown towards.

"If there's one thing I hate it's when people are too arrogant to know when they're outclassed."

Natsu growled out as his hands were coated in flames. He cold have easily beaten Gray without his magic, but he wanted to show off, which was why he felt comfortable using more of his magic. Plus he didn't think Mira would go down as easily as the dark haired boy.

"Big talk for wimp like yo-"

Mira started to say before she was blindsided by Natsu. His **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist** slamming into her side hard enough to force the air out of her. But unlike Gray she recovered quickly enough to counter attack. Ducking under her fist Natsu hopped back before taking a deep breath.

"**Fire Dragon's Roar**!"

He called as a plume of flame was shot out of his mouth towards the white haired girl. At first she tried to fight through it, but Natsu kept going which prevented her from doing that. Instead she backed off and waited for him to end his attack. After using a spell for that long he was bound to be tired she thought, which would make an opening for her.

"I've got you now! **Take Over: Satan Soul**."

Charging forward with her fist leading she was surprised when he ducked under her with a smirk.

"Too naive. **Fire Dragon's Double Impact**!"

Pushing his arms forward Natsu slammed his palms against her stomach, the force sending her flying into the air and causing slight burns where his hands were touching her skin. Not giving her the chance to react Natsu jumped. He went up into the air even higher than she'd been thrown. Tossing his arms forward he called out '**Fire Dragon's Wing Attack**!' as streams of fire lashed out and knocked her back to the ground.

With that Mira was defeated. The majority of the guild were shocked that Natsu had done two back to back battles with kids his own age and won. But when he turned and asked if anyone else wanted a shot their jaws hit the floor. He'd already thrown around more magic than a kid his age should be able to use. Yet he could still fight? When he didn't get a response Natsu ran to Cana and the blue haired girl.

"Sorry about that but I couldn't let her be rude."

"It's okay. I'm just amazed to see how strong you are. Oh, where are my manners. I'm Levy. Levy McGarden."

The blue haired girl responded with a blush. When Cana noticed the blush she was slightly jealous but she couldn't figure out why. Not that she let it stop her from being nice and introducing herself as well.

"I'm Cana Alberona, and he's Natsu. It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, nice to meet you."

Natsu echoed.

**Meanwhile**

Makarov had pulled Laxus and Gildarts to his office after Natsu defeated Mira.

"That kids pretty good. I'd say he's almost on Laxus's level. By that showing at least."

"Gramps why did you say he'd win even if I revealed my secret."

The two commented after the door was closed.

"Laxus, that's not his true magic. Those orange flames are a bastardized version of his real flames. You see, he has some extraordinarily hot crimson colored flames. Those crimson flames are able to burn even magic. But because they're so dangerous I forbade him from using them. He decided to learn **Fire Comma** magic and adapt it to his **Fire Dragon Slayer** magic, which resulted in what we just watched."

"Isn't that interesting… I wonder how those flames would stack up against my **Crash** magic."

Gildarts commented, while Laxus's jaw hit the floor.

"Gildarts let me put it this way. Unless you use an equal or higher amount of magic in your attack, his crimson flames would burn through it and come out stronger. Luckily he's already decide that to make it easier to tell the difference between his flames these orange ones are regular **Fire Dragon Slayer** magic. But when he uses the crimson ones its **Fire Dragon King Slayer** since he was raised by Igneel the Fire Dragon King. Which means they're going to be his hidden trump card."

Makarov explained. Laxus was completely stunned. If that was true, then the pink haired brat was already strong enough to contend with most S-class mages. Gildarts took that line of thought a step further and realized that by the time he was an adult the pink haired kid would have one hell of a trump card.

"Clearly you have something up your sleeve master. You wouldn't have told us about this other wise."

The man spoke out, getting Laxus to realize he was right.

"Well… Cana's been helping Natsu with learning common sense but I was hoping Laxus could join them. Teach Natsu about how to think ahead and make plans, things like that. It'd benefit both of them since Natsu could easily help Laxus grow stronger too."

The two men he'd brought with him to his office just stared at him. Laxus in shock, though he did recover and see the merit in the idea. Meanwhile Gildarts saw that there was more to it, more than what the guild master had said. But neither of them said anything as Laxus spoke up instead.

"Well it sounds fun at least. I think I'll try it out."

After that he stood up and retreated out of the office to join the rest of the guild.

"Why push Laxus to the pink haired runt?"

"I'm hoping it'll help keep his head on his shoulders. Ever since I expelled his father from the guild Laxus has been… not quite power hungry or crazed, but I fear he will be one day. Besides you're the only S-class mage we've got and you're always off on quests. Things have been getting rough lately, so the guild will need someone to look towards. Those two are the best choices for that role, so depending on how things go I want both of them as S-class after the trials this year."

* * *

S.R: Hopefully you guys don't mind how easily Natsu handled Gray and Mira. Especially after making such a huge fuss about weakening him... Well it's not so much as weakening him so much as it is making his abilities non-lethal.


	4. Chapter 4

S.R: Sorry, I didn't mean to take this long to post this chapter. I got distracted by phone issues. Otherwise this would have been up Sunday. Anyway here's chapter 4.

* * *

A couple weeks had passed since Natsu beat Gray and Mira back to back. Gray begrudgingly acknowledged that Natsu was a lot stronger than he'd given him credit for… But Mira was bratty about it, her pride not letting her admit that Natsu was stronger. Though he and Cana came around to the guild more, so the guild was thankful. Whenever Natsu was around Mira would behave, not quite being polite to everyone, but not living up to her nickname of 'Demon'. All because Natsu would glare at her when she pushed someone around.

Makarov was happy to see that Natsu had no problems interacting with the guild, though he chuckled to himself whenever he saw the pink haired boy and his two friends. After he stuck up for Levy, who had just joined the guild the day before his fights with Gray and Mira, she stuck close to him. Cana was also very close, having become good friends with him while they trained.

'_It's quite funny actually. Levy has nothing but admiration towards Natsu, but Cana's still jealous without knowing why.'_ He thought to himself as he watched his grandson, who'd just returned from a job walk up to the table Natsu and the two girls were sitting at.

"Back already Laxus? That job must not have been very hard then."

"Eh, it was pretty simple. Your job any good?"

"Nope. Gramps won't let me take a job outside of Magnolia yet."

Cana rolled her eyes at that. The guild master had told Natsu that he'd let the boy take jobs away from the town after Cana told him that she'd finished teaching the pink haired boy about common sense. Which was becoming a ridiculous task. Natsu was very smart and caught on to things rather quickly, but he also tended to forget things that weren't interesting or important to him.

Laxus knew all of this of course and so he just chuckled. But even thought it was funny to him, he took pity on the pink haired brat.

"Just make a team with someone. Your teammate can handle the clients while you handle the work."

He commented, which made Natsu's eyes light up in joy and eagerness.

"Laxus you want to make a team with me?!"

The pink haired boy practically begged.

"I know it'd be a pretty strong team, but I like doing my own thing."

"Damn… Who else can I ask?"

Natsu muttered to himself at Laxus's reply. The blonde preteen just rolled his eyes. Cana was pouting that she wasn't Natsu's first pick for a teammate. Levy was still reading her book and unaware of what was going on.

"While you think about that I'm going to tell gramps I'm back from my job. Oh, we're training tomorrow right?"

Laxus stated as he turned to head towards Makarov's office. Natsu nodded, which caused Cana to frown.

"Why can't I join when you train with Laxus?"

The brunette girl asked Natsu as Laxus walked away. She had a pouting look on her face that Natsu thought was cute.

"Laxus has a secret he's not allowed to show to people. I'm an exception to that rule because it's impossible for him to keep it a secret from me thanks to my enhanced senses."

He told her, before gently patting her head. Even though she wasn't truly mad with him for it, the head patting did make her feel better. Though once she realized that, a blush began spreading across her face. '_Why do I feel so happy when Natsu's close to me like this?'_ She wondered, unsure of why the pink haired boy was able to affect her emotions so much.

Natsu however finally realized he had someone else to ask about forming a team with, and in his mind she was even better than Laxus.

"Hey Cana, why don't we make a team?"

The blush she had dusting her cheeks spread to cover her entire body as she went red from head to toe.

"S-s-s-sure. I-i-i-i'd like that."

Stuttering, the brunette was just barely able to be understood as she responded. But Natsu was to excited since she said yes.

"Woo! Let's take a job tomorrow after I finish training with Laxus!"

He shouted, finally bringing Levy's attention away from her book.

"Oh, you want to take a job tomorrow?"

Natsu and Cana both turned to the blue haired girl. Thanks to the fact she had her nose buried in a book they'd forgotten she was there.

"Yeah. Hey Levy why don't you join the team Cana and I are making?"

"Okay."

With that settled the trio decided to think about what kind of job they wanted to take. Levy was hoping for something easy, Cana didn't want the job to take too long since the guild would worry if they were gone more than a few days. Natsu on the other hand was practically drooling at the idea of a subjugation job, since he'd get to fight. In the end they agreed to decide what kind of job they'd take when Natsu and Laxus came by the guild for lunch after their training.

**The Next Morning**

"You know, at first I didn't believe gramps when he said you were on my level. But then after we tied in our fight when we first started training I thought he was right."

Laxus commented, having already worked up a light sweat. He and Natsu had been trading attacks back and forth for the last half hour.

"Yeah, physically we're just about equal after all."

Natsu replied, a sheen to his skin showing that Laxus wasn't the only one sweating.

"But when I demanded to see those crimson flames gramps told me about, you floored me. You've got a slightly larger magic container than me, plus that annoying ability to eat magic from a weaker spell? Damn am I glad gramps forbids you from using them. At least this way we both can get something out of training together."

Laxus responded as they began to use magic in their fight. If anyone had been watching they'd be completely shocked by just how much the duo had damaged their surroundings once magic got involved. Scorch marks quickly began to decorate the ground, trees exploded as they were hit by straight bolts of lightning, small craters were formed every time one of them hit the ground. Yet they were still holding back, which would be the biggest surprise.

When they finally began to pant heavily, the two abruptly stopped fighting. Excited and pleased grins covered their faces. They both had to hand it to the guild master, having realized that this was what he wanted. Laxus found someone that could easily keep up and match him in a fight. Natsu found someone he could learn new tactics from. It was a win-win for both of them.

"I think… I think I figured out how to copy your **Lightning Body** spell."

Natsu commented as they moved towards Magnolia.

"Oh? Show me."

Doing what Laxus asked Natsu coated his body in flames before chanting **Flame Body. **As he finished the spell his body faded into the flames, creating a walking human shaped fire. To test it Laxus punched towards the flames, only for his hand to go all the way through. It tingled on his skin but did nothing else.

"It's a good thing I still get the same benefits you do, even though I'm only a second generation Dragon Slayer."

Laxus said, as he noticed how little damage he received for punching through fire. A smile was on Natsu's face.

"Yeah, we Dragon Slayers are really tough."

Agreeing with a nod, Laxus lead the way back to the guild. When they entered they were greeted by several other members, including Cana and Levy, both of whom were waiting with smiles on their faces.

"We told the master our plan to make a team. He was okay with it, but we still can't go too far or be gone for too long on jobs."

Levy told Natsu, excitement coloring her voice. Cana was just as excited as she nodded happily. Laxus was happy that they'd gotten permission but he knew there would still be limits.

"That's to be expected though. I mean you three are still pretty young. Heck I'm not even a teenager yet and your younger than me. It'd be a shock to most of Fiore, to see kids like you taking jobs meant for adults."

Natsu frowned at that. He truly hated the fact that he was looked down on and underestimated just because he was young. Cana and Levy both nodded, having heard the same thing from the guild master as he reason for setting boundaries for the young guild members. But the three of them brushed it aside and rushed over to the job board to see what they could find. Laughing at their enthusiasm Laxus made his way towards the bar to order some lunch.

"Let's see… Nope, nope, nope, nope" Cana stated as they read the locations for each of the jobs. Since Natsu didn't know how far they were allowed to go he stayed silent and let her find the jobs they could take. Eventually she continued on "oh here we go, this one and this one, oh that one too. Looks like we've got three choices."

Grabbing the three of them she turned to Levy and Natsu with them. Taking a seat at the closest table they looked over the job options. The first was to search the town of Tily as the mayors pet cat ran away from his home. The second choice was to help find a missing person in Onibus town. Third was to head down to Hargeon and deal with some bandits.

"I vote for the Hargeon job."

Natsu spoke but Cana and Levy both vetoed it. Neither one of them felt confident doing anything that involved fighting. Cana wanted to take the job in Onibus, because she could use her **Card** magic to tell the man's fortune as a way to locate him. But Levy enjoyed petting animals and wanted to help find the cat in Tily.

Macao and Wakaba having overheard the debate butted in, hoping to help settle it.

"All of these jobs play to your strengths. Cana could do fortune telling to locate the cat or the missing person, and Natsu's probably more than strong enough to handle the bandits in Hargeon. So rather than try to figure out which one would be the easiest for you guys, why not think about which one would be the best? I mean we've all heard about how Natsu wants to find his dad, and Cana you've been really eager to grow stronger lately. Levy, you're an avid reader and enjoy learning. So why not figure out which job gives you the best opportunity."

"Wakaba's got a point. But if you want to think that way, then Hargeon would be the job to take. After all Cana's been training with Natsu, so taking out the bandits might be a good benchmark to see just how much stronger she's gotten. Plus they've got a massive library there. It's also the furthest from the guild so Natsu can cover more ground in his search for his dad."

Natsu smiled ask Macao explained why the job he wanted to take would be the best one for them. Even though he only wanted to take it so he could fight. Levy was ready to agree when she heard the words 'massive library'. Cana was still a bit unsure, but when the two adults smiled at her she decided to they were right, and if she could handle that job then she could be more confident in herself.

"Alright then we'll take this job. Let's go tell the master so he can register it."

She spoke, drawing nods from Natsu and Levy. Having been prepared for them to walk over to him at the bar, the master had the job book pulled out and ready to go. After Cana showed him the one they decided to take he filled it out and told them to be safe. As they left the guild however he called for a rather slim man in a white shirt and black pants.

"Reedus. I have faith those three can handle the job they just took. But I'm worried how people would react since they're only kids. Would you mind looking after them for me?"

"Oui. I don't have a problem with that. We have to look out for them after all."

The man replied with a smile. So after a few minutes of gathering up his supplies the man followed the kids out of the guild. Even though he was supposed to look after them, he decided to watch over the kids from a distance and only intervene if he had to. So rather than joining them on the train he sat a few compartments away. Though he was only just barely able to listen in on them that way but he was fine with that.

"What's wrong Natsu you don't look so good all of a sudden?!"

Cana asked. The moment Natsu sat down his face went green and he almost fell over. Levy who was sitting on the seat across from them looked up at the shout.

"Oh it looks like he's got a bad case of motion sickness."

The blue haired girl explained. Natsu groaned weakly, before covering his mouth to avoid getting sick. While she was glad it wasn't something serious, Cana was still worried for her friend so she asked Levy if she knew any ways to cure it.

"I don't know about that, but I've read there are things you can do so it isn't as bad. For example he could lay down and take a nap. That's something I'll look into at the library when we get to Hargeon."

Since it sounded like a good idea Natsu tried to stand up so he could lay on the floor, that way Levy and Cana wouldn't be bothered. But the brunette didn't let him.

"Why lay on the floor?"

Natsu nearly threw up when he answered but he fought it back down to be able to speak.

"Be-urk… because I don't have the seat to myself."

"I can switch seats with you if you want to lay down."

Levy offered, but for some reason Cana shook her head.

"I don't mind. Just lay your head in my lap. I remember my mom used to rub circles on my back when I was sick so I'll do the same for you."

She offered, her face pink. Levy agreed that the back rub might help as well and told Natsu it was a better idea than just laying down, so he slowly leaned over Cana's legs, before gently settling his head in her lap. The brunette started blushing a little harder at that, but she managed to rub circles on his back without fainting from embarrassment.

Eventually they got to Hargeon, with Levy and Cana supporting Natsu in order to get him off the train. While they drew strange looks, no one really commented on Natsu's passionate refusal to ride a train ever again.

"Now we find the guy that posted that job request right?"

Natsu questioned as they left the train station.

"Yes. According to this we need to head to the mayors office."

Levy replied, as they began to search for the mayors office. It didn't take them long, and though the mayors assistant looked at them funny she let them see the mayor. When they announced that they were there to handle the bandits, he began laughing.

"Hey, we're serious here!"

But the man started laughing even harder. Cana was also a bit miffed at the fact the man was laughing at them. Levy however just sighed as she said they could prove it.

"Oh? Well I see you have the request form. But that's not really proof that you've accepted the job. If you can prove you're wizards from a guild I'll believe you."

"Natsu's the only one of us that can show his guild mark without taking clothes off, so we'll have him prove it."

Cana answered, as she turned towards the pink haired boy. Her statement was true since she was wearing a dress. She'd have pull it up enough to show her underwear in order for the man to see her guild mark on her stomach. Levy wasn't as bad, but she'd have to remove her shirt in order for the man to see her shoulder blade where the blue haired girls mark was at.

But Natsu smirked as he proudly pulled up the sleeve on his right arm to show off his red Fairy Tail mark. Which made the mayor smile.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry for laughing at you all. I know Fairy Tail has a reputation for being reliable and responsible, if a bit out of control at times. So I know you aren't lying at least."

Natsu just humphed in response, Cana and Levy both sighed in relief. Before asking the mayor for details about the bandits. He explained that they'd been causing trouble on the eastern side of the town before running off into the forest to the northeastern side of the town.

"Alright I'm ready to kick some butt!"

Natsu cheered as he smashed his fists together. Levy smiled, and Cana chuckled at his eagerness. Even the mayor couldn't help but smile, having a feeling that the kids were going to handle the situation easily. When they left his office they didn't get to move to far before Natsu gestured for them to hurry.

"I can hear a few people calling for help already."

Levy was surprised to learn Natsu had a sharper sense of hearing than a normal human, but Cana already knew it and couldn't help but mumble to herself about how quickly they'd finish the job….

She was spot on about the job being over quickly. Natsu surprised the bandits that were attacking, knocking two of them out just by bashing their heads together, before jumping forward to fist fight with three of them. Cana managed to take two out by throwing her cards at them as she called out "**Cards Volley!**" Levy caught one bandit by surprise with her **Solid Script: Hole** making the man fall into a pit trap.

It took the three of them about 10 minutes to handle a group of twenty five bandits. When it was all said and done the people that they'd saved were cheering for them, happy to see the bandits had been dealt with.

"Pah that was boring. They didn't even put up a decent fight."

Natsu complained as they set about tying the bandits up to take them to jail.

"You didn't even need to use your magic."

Levy commented, in complete awe of Natsu's raw strength. Cana wasn't as awed as the bluenette having gotten used to Natsu being ridiculously strong. But Natsu brushed the praise off, as he wanted to get the bandits to jail so he could start looking around for Igneel. Since they were given a bit more freedom than others their age, the three of them didn't have to immediately return to the guild, so Natsu was going to take advantage of that to search for Igneel. Cana of course was going to help him, but Levy decided the library would be her next destination.

**The Next Day**

Since they didn't have to return to Magnolia right away they decided to stay in Hargeon for the night, before returning. Which gave Reedus a chance to return to the guild and tell Makarov he didn't have to worry about how the public would see the kids. Which was also why he didn't need them to give a complete report about the job. The real surprise was Gildarts returning to Magnolia a couple hours after the kids did. He gave his report to Makarov before deciding to spend time with the brats. Natsu was quickly worming his way into the orange haired mans heart so he decided to bond a bit more with him.

"Hey Natsu, come with me for a bit would ya?"

"Can Cana and Levy come too?"

"Sure."

But Levy was too engrossed in her book to agree, so instead Gildarts left the guild with just Natsu and Cana. Erza didn't care, Mira took her chance to assert her dominance over the guild now that Natsu wasn't around to stop her, Gray was jealous, and Laxus just shook his head at it all.

When they approached a store that Natsu hadn't seen before he asked the older mage what they were doing.

"Well I'm going to buy some outdoor stuff, then we're heading into the forest so I can teach you some stuff. If you're good I might even teach you how to fish."

Cana was smiling, happy to be spending time with her dad even if he didn't know it. Though she was happy Natsu was there as well. Even with his presence boosting her sense of confidence, she wasn't yet confident enough to tell Gildarts he was her father though. The rest of their day passed with Gildarts teaching the two all kinds of things. Eventually they made their way back to the guild. Natsu raced off to find Laxus and tell him about all the stuff he'd learned from Gildarts but Cana stayed next to the man.

"Hey Gildarts?"

"Yes Cana?"

She still wasn't ready to tell him that he was her father, but Cana figured she could lay the ground work for her to do it in the future.

"There's something I need to tell you… But I'm just not ready yet."

"I'm not around a whole lot, but I'm always ready to listen. Whenever you're prepared to tell me whatever it is I'll listen okay?"

Nodding Cana smiled, happy to have made a bit of progress.

"Oh, thanks for today. It was kinda fun."

She commented before walking away to find Natsu. Gildarts on the other hand moved towards the bar and sat down next to the guild master.

"That pink haired brat is a breath of fresh air for the guild. But I don't think he'll be ready in time for the S-class trials like you want."

He told the short man, who nodded.

"Yes, Cana's been giving me updates on his lessons in common sense and practical knowledge. Unless it's interesting to him, or important to him, he doesn't seem to care. Maybe in a few years he'll stop being so carefree."

* * *

S.R: To answer a question that a few people will no doubt have…. We've still got a fair bit to cover before I go near the start of canon material. But we still have to spread things out so a mini time skip will be involved. So we'll be jumping through time a bit between the next few chapters. See you all with the next update.


	5. Chapter 5

S.R: Wow. I did not think I would have so much trouble writing a simple recap on things that happened between the last chapter and the start of this one since it's a time skip. Yet I struggled to write it in a way that worked for me. At this point I'm later than I intended but I guess that's okay.

* * *

"It's hard to believe almost five years have passed."

Natsu mumbled to himself as he walked towards the Fairy Tail guild hall to meet up with his team. Though he was smiling as he spoke. Remembering all the wacky things they've done and all the interesting events that had happened.

Of course at the end of his first year as a member Laxus made S-class like everyone expected. Thanks to their friendship, the blonde would occasionally bring Natsu along on a job just the two of them. Since it was pretty rare, they hadn't made it an official team or anything, but the guild had dubbed the duo "Shock and Flare" in reference to Laxus's **Lightning** magic and Natsu's **Fire** magic.

He still had his true team with Levy and Cana, which the guild just called 'Team Natsu' since he was the one to start the team. But Levy didn't always go on jobs with them, having joined a second team that she did a lot of work with as well. During his second year at Fairy Tail a strange kid named Mystogan joined. Not much else happened until the third year where Mystogan was promoted to S-class, bringing the number of wizards with that title in Fairy Tail to 3.

The fourth year, Erza and Mira both were selected for S-class. Since Natsu had become really well known for being carefree and reckless, very few people were surprised to see he wasn't participating like Erza and Mira. The real surprise that year was that Makarov promoted both Erza and Mira to S-class.

This year however hadn't had much happen. He hadn't even heard any rumors that could be leads on where Igneel had gone. As he walked towards the guild Natsu hopped for something interesting to happen. Sadly his wish would be granted in a way he didn't want it to be….

**Two Hours Later**

Cana and Levy both were rather tired so they convinced Natsu to take the day off and just lounge about at the guild. Which was why all three of them were present at the guild when Mira and Elfman returned from a job. But they were missing a person, heavily bandaged, and crying. No matter what anyone said or did, neither of the Strauss siblings would speak. It wasn't until a messenger from the council came to the guild that they found out. At first the man looked towards the guild master, but after he got half way through his statement his attention shifted to the two white haired kids.

"The council has sent me to thank your guild, specifically the members Mirajane and Elfman Strauss. If it weren't for their quick actions the town of Tily would have been destroyed by the demon known as 'The Beast'. I was also asked to apologize for the loss of the youngest Strauss sibling during the battle against the vile demon. We Rune knights are deeply sorry for the loss of one Lisanna Strauss, and have decided to honor her by presenting a posthumous award of the Fioran Medal of Bravery."

The tall man in armor spoke as he took his helm off and bowed low to the crying forms of Elfman and Mirajane. The entire building was silent as the mans words sunk in. But when Mira started sobbing even harder the floodgates broke and several others began to cry as well. By the time the Rune Knight left the guild the only people not openly sobbing were Laxus, Natsu, Gray, and Erza.

In the case of the red headed teen, she instead used her magic to change from her standard armor to a simple white blouse and skirt before gently wrapping her arms around Mira in an attempt to comfort her, which would have shocked everyone if they had actually been paying attention. Gray had stripped subconsciously like normal was was standing in just his shorts, but he was shaking in place as he fought off the tears, wanting to stay strong and support his white haired friend as much as possible as he slowly came to place a hand on Elfman's shoulder.

Laxus and Natsu were both quite sad as well, but they pushed through the pain they felt. As someone who was placed on a pedestal for the rest of the guild to look up to and look to for leadership, Laxus was shaking as he tried to calm himself. The burden of staying strong for everyone else was something he only just managed to shoulder as he choked out a question on what he could do to help.

Natsu however just stood up from his seat. Not a word was said by him as he marched towards the door. He needed to be alone, for reasons that only the guild master, Laxus, and Cana knew. But no one questioned him as he left. They all knew he was hurting just as badly as they were. After all he had grown close with everyone in the guild during the last few years, Lisanna especially.

The pink haired boy didn't stop walking until he was deep in the forest. The little clearing by the river that he and Cana used to train was fairly deep into the forest, but he went into the sea of trees even further than that. The massive clearing that he and Laxus had created for their training grounds was hidden in the forest a short distance past the spot he and Cana trained in, but he had passed it as well. It wasn't until he got to the deepest point in the forest before he stopped moving.

That was when he allowed himself to cry. As the tears came and he finally let himself break down and sob over Lisanna's death, Natsu let go. He couldn't be bothered to make the effort to control his rising magic. It went rampant around him bringing the ambient temperature up to cause nearby trees to wilt, and rocks to glow as if they were inside a forge. The grass around him was dried up and died nearly instantaneously, but even that wasn't enough as it became ash in the wind as fire began to twist wildly in the air around him. A strange mix of the orange flames he'd grown used to using and the crimson flames that the pink haired boy had dubbed as the flames of a 'Fire Dragon King' came pouring out of him with no restraint.

At that point even the citizens in Magnolia that could just barely sense magical energy, were able to to feel Natsu's power. Several guild members just starred in the direction they could feel it from in awe. Others were troubled by the fact that Natsu seemed to be venting his emotions as far as they could tell.

"What the hell is that flame-brain doing?!"

Gray muttered, unaware that his words were still heard by a few people. Cana was still crying as she glared at the dark haired boy.

"He's grieving, just like we are dumb-ass!"

She yelled at Gray, unable to hold back her words. Laxus nodded his head in agreement as he spoke up.

"Natsu tends to let his emotions rule him. He's hurting just like we are, enough so that he can't even be bothered to control his magic right now. At least he was able to hold himself together long enough to get away from us, because right now I have no doubt that his magic is destroying his surroundings."

"Laxus is completely correct on that. Though what we're feeling from Natsu right now isn't entirely his fault anyway. Natsu was born with an extremely high affinity for **Fire** magic, enough so that he was born with an extraordinarily rare power known as the 'Flames of Emotion'. The stronger his emotions are the stronger his **Fire** magic becomes."

The guild master chimed in, explaining to the guild exactly why they were able to feel Natsu's power so completely. After all he had left the guild a fair bit ago, so he had to have moved fairly far away from Magnolia. But Mira finally spoke after that. Her words made Laxus and Cana both frown before the brunette left the guild to race towards Natsu's side.

"It's not his fault… Lisanna had asked him to join us on this job but I said no and wouldn't let him come."

Laxus and Cana might have been the two that caught on the quickest but, they weren't the only ones to realize what the **Take Over** mage was trying to say. '_He's blaming himself right now. I wouldn't be surprised if his exact thoughts right now are that if Mira hadn't told him no, he could have gone with them and saved her.' _Makarov thought, which caused his frown to deepen even further than it had been when he heard about what had happened to Lisanna. But when he noticed Cana leaving, the short elderly man decided to let her be the one to talk to Natsu.

Cana ran through the forest as she followed the feel of Natsu's magic. Even when she got close enough to see him and feel the results of his rampaging magic, even when it hurt her, she kept moving until her arms were wrapped around his body so she could hug him. The shock from her suddenly appearing and hugging him was enough for him to regain himself and reign in his magic, but he was still shaky and sobbing in her arms because Lisanna was gone.

"Shh… Shh… It's alright Natsu."

The brunette commented as she tried to soothe the pink haired boy. It took a bit but he finally relaxed a bit and stopped crying, though he was still teary eyed and sniffling softly.

"I know it hurts Natsu. And that's okay. She was our friend, so it should hurt. But I don't think she'd want us dwelling on things."

Cana commented as the two shifted from standing to sitting on the ground. To make them more comfortable they sat side by side, with Cana's arms still wrapped around his upper body, allowing her to use one hand to force his head to lay against her shoulder in a side hug.

"But. If I had been there..."

"It's not your fault Natsu. None of us could have predicted this happening. Besides for all we know even if you were there it still would have happened. It's okay to cry and feel sad. But what do you think she'd be saying to you right now if she could see you?"

Natsu hiccuped before answered in an unsteady voice that Lisanna would probably tell him the same thing Cana had said.

"So it must be true, she and I both can't be wrong. That means you can't blame yourself."

"If you say so."

The pink haired preteen answered, still somewhat unsure sounding.

"I want you to promise me something Natsu."

"What's that?"

Natsu questioned his head tilted to look her in the eyes. Cana gulped, suddenly realizing exactly what she was going to say. '_But if I back down now, how can I face him, let alone my dad? __I have to be confident.__'_ Taking a deep breath she started to speak.

"I want you to promise me that you won't think about what ifs. Take the time to grieve for Lisanna, but don't let this change you. Don't let that bright and cheery attitude of yours that I've fallen in love with, fade away."

Silence was all that greeted her. But she wasn't nervous, or thankful for it. No, she just waited for an answer. Natsu studied her face after her declaration. He had noticed that she tended to blush a lot around him, and for all kinds of reasons. So he wasn't really surprised to hear that she had come to like him beyond regular friendship. Especially since he felt the same way.

The silent pause was more so that Natsu could actually think up a response instead of nodding like an idiot. He wanted to give her a proper answer, and not just give a stupid or halfhearted reply. Finally the corners of his lips raised as he gave the brunette that was still hugging him a smile.

"So long as you're always there to remind me and be patient with me, I can promise you that I won't give in to any negative feelings or emotions, and that I'll do the same for you…"

Leaning in a bit closer, Natsu wrapped his arms around Cana, turning their embrace from a one sided affair into a proper hug. But before Cana could say anything Natsu continued on. "After all, I would do anything to protect that radiant smile of yours that I cherish."

* * *

S.R: You know, as I sit here typing up my authors notes I realize this ending is pretty cliché. It's also ridiculously cheesy. But that's okay. It makes me smile, and that's all that matters. Also I'm now switching back to my "The Unexpected Family" story so it'll be a while before the next chapter. But I'll see you all next time.


	6. Chapter 6

S.R: Okay so yeah I'm not going to make any excuses for taking this long. I will admit that I've been playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses so much that I'm on my third play through though. I'm supposed to be working, getting my grandma's place ready for an estate sale, but I got bored of that so I'm going to take a break on that for the day and spam update my stories on here. Anyway, here you go.

* * *

A few weeks had passed since Cana and Natsu had confessed to each other. In that time Natsu had become a bit less reckless. But he was still pretty carefree. It was enough of an improvement to Natsu's regular attitude that Makarov was considering the pink haired teen for the S-class trials.

Cana was also being considered. She'd always been someone the guild master felt could be S-class but it wasn't until she really began pushing herself in training with Natsu that she had the power for it. While he agreed with Fairy Tail's ace, on her having been strong enough the previous year, she wasn't ready mentally at that point, as she didn't think she had the power just yet.

'_This years S-class trials might be interesting._'

The old man thought to himself as he sat in his office. But then some shouts from the guild hall below him drew his attention. Since he didn't have much paperwork left for the day he decided to see what was going on.

Entering the room he found Natsu and Cana sitting at a table with a rather sizable egg between them. Gray, Elfman, and Levy were all standing around them talking about the egg and what it could possibly be.

Normally Erza would have been part of the group, having opened up slightly to Gray and Cana after Natsu forced her to open up with someone besides himself, but she was out on a solo mission. Mira would have been part of the group as well but she was diligently working at the bar. When she recovered from her grief over Lisanna's death she practically begged to become a semi-active member and work the bar for the guild rather than continue to head out on missions.

"I'm telling you it's going to be some kind of dragon egg!"

Natsu shouted at Elfman and Gray. In his mind there was no other possibility for an egg of that size. Besides then he'd finally have proof that dragons exist and Gray would have to shut up. At least that was what Natsu thought about it all.

Cana was just smiling at Natsu, which didn't surprise anyone who saw them. After she'd managed to calm him down and get the pink haired teen to return to the guild when he found out about Lisanna's death, she declared for the entire guild to hear that she and Natsu were dating.

But then her attention was drawn to the egg which began shaking slightly. Eagerly tapping on Natsu's shoulder she got his attention in time for the first crack to appear. Everyone in the room went silent when they noticed. As the whole room became transfixed by the egg more and more cracks began to form as it shook more and more.

After it fully broke apart a bright light formed and floated up into the sky before fading to reveal a kitten sized blue cat. While it's color was strange, the strangest part was the fact it had a small pair of wings.

While everyone made comments about it's weird appearance it shakily fluttered down to land on Natsu's head. After a moment it blinked and sat up before saying 'Aye!' in a rather cute voice. But then it laid back down and curled up on Natsu's head to sleep.

At that the guild was speechless again, it was just too adorable. But then Makarov recovered, quietly and swiftly moving to stand next to Reedus, who had changed from his skinny appearance. Just a year ago had asked for the guild master to use his **Giant** magic on him in order to use his **Pict** magic more reliably, yet the spell was still holding strong. So now rather than being skinny he was rather round in the area of his stomach and chest, but not like a ball, no. It was more like his abdomen was shaped like a thick coin.

"Reedus, I want a picture of this moment. Could you paint it?"

"Oui."

the man responded before taking out his brush and palette before setting to work on painting the guild. When he was finished with the image it was a sight to behold. Natsu had gently lifted the cat from his head and was cradling it in his arms. Cana was standing beside him, one hand softly rubbing the blue cat's head. Laxus was standing slightly behind them with a smile on his face as he patted Natsu's shoulder. Wakaba and Macao were in the background behind Cana, arms around each other's shoulders as they chuckled at the teens in front of them.

Gray was standing just off to the side with his arms crossed, shirtless of course but smiling happily. Elfman was beside him an arm raised in the air as he softly shouted about how manly the egg hatching was. Levy was looking at the blue cat with sparkling eyes.

Since Natsu and Cana were the two that found the egg, and had been taking care of it for the past few days Makarov approached them.

"As you two are the ones that have taken care of the egg it's up to you to name this little guy."

He commented with a soft smile. Natsu and Cana just looked at each other before the pink haired teen smiled.

"Since he made things cheerful and happy when he hatched let's call him Happy."

Cana couldn't think of a better name so she just nodded along with Natsu's idea.

"Very well then, Happy it is."

The guild master commented with a smile before announcing the name to the rest of the guild. After that they partied hard. Hard enough that no one made it home that night.

**The Next Morning**

Natsu was one of the first people to wake up. Since the blue cat had been sleeping for most of the party, he was the one keeping an eye on it. So when it was blinking up at him with the sound of it's stomach rumbling he figured it fell on him to feed the kitten. While he didn't have a clue on what cat's could and couldn't eat he did know that wild cats ate fish, so he wondered into the kitchen behind the bar in the guild hall. Pulling a fresh fish out from the meat locker he cut it up into small pieces before lightly frying them on the stove. When he gave them to Happy the blue cat ate them up without issue before smiling at him.

"Aye!"

It cheered. Smiling right back at the blue cat as he left the kitchen he commented.

"You're name is Happy now. It's nice to meet you Happy. I'm Natsu."

By that point a few other people began stirring. Namely the guild master, Cana, and Mira. The three of them also introduced themselves to the blue cat, despite the fact he still had yet to say anything besides 'Aye'.

After that, weeks passed with the guild getting used to the blue cat that had the magical ability to grow wings and fly. While Happy spent the majority of the time with Natsu, Cana also took her turn in looking after him. It was enough that some of the older members of the guild started joking about Happy being Natsu and Cana's surrogate child.

But Makarov was very happy as he observed things. Since Natsu was the one taking care of Happy the majority of the time he grew up a bit and was a little less carefree than before, having to pay close attention to the young cats wants and needs in order to raise Happy.

The even of Happy hatching, and the untimely death of Lisanna seemed to be just what Natsu needed to become someone the guild master felt worthy of becoming S-class. While the Dragon Slayer was less reckless and carefree, he still had his moments though, so he hadn't changed entirely.

**Time Skip**

Around the time Happy was 6 months old it came time to announce the S-class trials. Since Natsu and Cana were both shining stars in the guild this time the majority of the guild felt they'd be the ones chosen to participate, and encouraged them to do their best in the week leading up to the announcement.

When it came time for the master to let the guild know about the participants, it was quiet. Everyone sat watching the stage with baited breath as the short old man walked towards the center of the stage.

"As you all know last year we had both Erza and Mira become S-class. This year after consulting numerous times with the current S-class, I've decided that the following guild members will be participating in the S-class trials. When I call your name step forward please. Cana Alberona and Natsu Dragneel!"

Most of the guild cheered for the two. Though Gray just grumbled about how he should have been chosen instead of the pyro. But they ignored him since everyone knew he was just jealous of Natsu.

"In two days we leave for the location that the trials will take place at. Candidates please select your partner and inform me of who they are by tomorrow evening. The only rules in regards to who you may partner up with are as follows. Your partner must be a fellow guild member, and they can not be an S-class member."

With that Makarov finished his announcement and rushed to his office while the guild swarmed Cana and Natsu to ask who they were going to partner up with.

"Isn't it obvious? My partner is going to be my normal partner."

Natsu responded when they bugged him about it. Strangely no one understood what he meant.

"Who's that?"

Someone asked. Natsu just smiled as he slung an arm around Cana's shoulder.

"My regular partner is Cana obviously."

But Gray wasn't having that, as he questioned how someone so stupid could be allowed a shot at being S-class. Most of the guild frowned at that before Erza hit him upside the head.

"In case you've forgotten Gray, Mira and I put our differences aside and partnered up last year for our exam. We figured it would increase our chances of getting promoted if we could show that we were mature enough to work together even though at the time we really couldn't stand each other. It's perfectly fine for them to partner up."

"Erza's right. Besides you might have been chosen... If you knew how to keep your clothes on."

Laxus teased Gray, who had somehow stripped down to just his boxers during the conversation. Everyone but the dark haired teen chuckled at that.

"I don't suppose you guys could give us a hint about what to expect?"

Cana asked, her words showing that she completely agreed with Natsu on being partners. Which everyone expected since they were dating. Laxus shook his head. As did Erza. When they turned towards Mira, the white haired girl just smiled.

"Since I'm only a semi-active member the master didn't tell me anything about this years trials."

Cana groaned at that, wishing someone could tell her what to expect. It didn't have to be an explanation of the trials, just a little hint about what to prepare for. But Natsu just laughed.

"It'll be alright. We'll pass the trials no problem!"

Natsu told her, his confidence making her smile.

"Well I can't tell you about the trials themselves but I can say we'll be traveling and away from the guild for a few days."

Laxus commented, making most of the guild wonder what was going to happen with Happy. Since Natsu and Cana had been taking care of him, they'd need someone to look after the flying blue cat while they were gone.

"Okay… Oh, Levy could you look after Happy for us since we probably can't bring him with us?"

"Yeah that's no problem."

Levy responded when her brunette friend asked.

"I suppose we should tell gramps about the fact we're partnering up."

Natsu commented as he began wading through the guild members that had surrounded him and Cana. Since he had sneakily put her hand inside of his after he told the others that they were going to partner up, she was pulled along behind him. But rather than being upset or mad at being pulled along, she was smiling happy to be holding hands with him.

When they got up to the guild masters office Natsu knocked on the door before entering without much pause.

"Hey gramps we just wanted to let you know that Cana and I are pairing up."

"Okay then. Take tomorrow to prepare for the trials. You'll want to pack about a weeks worth of clothes, so keep that in mind while getting ready."

"Got it."

Natsu responded, and Cana just nodded at the guild masters words.

**A Few Days Later**

"Here we are. Tenrou Island. The homeland of our guilds first master."

Makarov told Natsu and Cana with a smile as he gestured towards the island in front of them. But only Cana was really able to look at it. Natsu had gotten sea-sick the moment he stepped onto the boat. Laxus had too, so Natsu didn't feel too bad. He did get lucky compared to the blonde. Cana had taken pity on him and placed his head in her lap while they traveled which did lessen the nausea he felt. Laxus however had no one do the same for him. Eventually the couple found themselves standing on the shore of the island with the guild master. Laxus, Erza, and Gildarts had all been sent ahead already.

"Alright your first task is this. Pick a path. One leads you to Gildarts, one to Erza, one to Laxus, one is full of traps, and the last is a free path. Depending on who you run into the challenge will be different."

The master spoke, which caused Cana to tilt her head.

"How so?"

"If you face Erza you have to defeat her in battle. Laxus, you have to make him stand down and admit that he could not beat both of you in a 2 on 1 fight. As for Gildarts…. You just have to survive long enough for him to pass you."

Cana nearly panicked at that. The way the guild master spoke made it seem as if even with Natsu's extreme strength the would only be able to beat Erza, and that it'd be a fluke if they could make Laxus stand down. But Natsu just grinned.

"What if we beat Gildarts?"

"Natsu, I forbid the use of your crimson flames. The sheer heat they put off would harm your partner far more than it would Gildarts. Besides you'll get your chance to fight him later."

Natsu groaned buy he accepted the guild masters words. '_Well Cana would probably struggle to keep up with Laxus and I so if I want a fight the best bet for both of us to keep going would be to find Erza.'_

"You make pick your path now."

Makarov spoke up when he was satisfied that Natsu would do as he said. Natsu however just sniffed the air before smirking. Whoever set the test up didn't think to account for his extreme sense of smell.

"I've got our path."

"Then lead the way."

Cana responded with a smile. She had figured that Natsu would determine which paths their opponents were on. Even though he wanted to prove himself and fight her dad, she knew he wouldn't risk letting them loose so quickly after he was promised a chance to fight the guilds ace later on. Knowing how Natsu would think he would then pick either Laxus's or Erza's path so that he could still fight. Because they all knew she wasn't quite ready to fight Laxus that would mean Natsu was likely going to lead her on the path to Erza which didn't bother her a bit. Natsu would be there beside her so she was certain they could win.

When they entered a massive clearing the duo were treated to the sight of Erza. But she wasn't in her regular armor. Instead she had on a set of black armor that was covered in spikes. Her normal sword was replaced by a large mace as well.

"Master told me I wasn't to hold back, and to use my strongest armor. I've only ever lost to Laxus and Gildarts while using this armor. Let's see if you two can match my **Purgatory Armor**."

Natsu just smiled viciously as he lit his hands on fire before shouting "I'm all fired up!" Cana pulled the top few cards of her deck out of the custom holster that was on her hip, before getting into a defensive stance.

Dashing forward Erza targeted Cana, figured she could take her our first and enrage Natsu into fighting sloppily. But her attack was cut short when Natsu blocked her mace with one hand.

"Ain't happenin'." He told her before tossing her off balance and jumping up just in time to dodge the cards that Cana had thrown.

"**Cards magic: Card Volley**!"

Only one of the cards thrown managed to hit Erza, but it had enough force to cause the red headed knight to spin. Which gave Natsu an opening to take advantage of.

"**Fire Dragon's Iron Fist**!" His punch landed square in Erza's gut. But as a seasoned fighter Erza quickly recovered and tried to smash Natsu into the ground with her mace. Once again blocking it Natsu just smirked at her.

"I don't care what this armor of yours does. It isn't enough to match me!"

He told her before overpowering her, by pulling the mace out of her hand. Since Natsu was running defense for her Cana was able to send in another attack. Because Erza's armor seemed to be made of metal she used her "**Cards magic: Thunderbolt's Fate**" spell which delivered a massive jolt to Erza.

But their opponent wasn't ready to give in just yet. Since Natsu had taken her weapon Erza resorted to fighting hand to hand. Sadly for her, Natsu was more of a master than she was, as he quickly overwhelmed her. Forcing her back he made the red headed knight lose her balance before finished the fight with his "**Fire Dragon's Roar**!"

With that Erza collapsed to the ground, defeated.

"Well that's the first trial done."

Natsu commented with a smile as he bent down to pick Erza up and carry her towards the end of the path. Since the trials were going to take a few days he figured the paths all lead towards a base camp where they'd be staying for the rest of the trials. Which meant they'd be able to treat her there.

Cana just nodded her head. While the test hadn't been harsh, she wasn't quite sure she'd have been able to beat Erza without Natsu since the older teen currently slung over Natsu's shoulder was far faster than her.

Laxus and Gildarts were waiting along side the master when the got to the base camp, the three of them a little surprised at the fact neither Natsu nor Cana seemed to have any injuries. When the guild master asked about it, Natsu just responded "I ran defense while Cana hit her hard."

"Well the next trial should take enough time for us to get Erza back on her feet at least. I'll let Gildarts explain it so I can see to Erza."

the short man said as he used his **Giant** magic to enlarge his arm and hand enough to take Erza from Natsu without an issue. With that, Natsu and Cana turned towards Gildarts.

"Normally for this test you'd track either myself or Laxus down to wherever we hide on the island, but with your enhanced senses that'd be too easy."

The orange haired man spoke as he looked towards Natsu.

"Instead I'll describe an area that you have to find. You two may be partners for this one, but I'm supposed to give you two separate areas to search for."

Nodding the two stepped forward to get the details about the locations they needed to find. Natsu's area was closer to the center of the northern section of the island while Cana's was in the eastern part of the island. Cana was to find the spot where the guild made the grave for the first guild master, while Natsu was to find the ruins of the home the first master had lived in when she lived on the island.

As Natsu and Cana left the campsite Laxus turned to Gildarts.

"Wanna make a bet on who finds their place first?"

* * *

S.R: That is a legitimate question. I know what I want to do for both of them, it's just a matter of figuring out whose section gets written first. So theoretically you all could place your bets with Laxus by leaving it in your review. Anyway I'll see you guys next time.


	7. Chapter 7

S.R: You guys all voted for Natsu to find Mavis's home first. All of the reviews were for Natsu. No one said anything about Cana finding the grave first.

(Insert evil laugh here)

* * *

**S.R: OH AND BEFORE I FORGET. I CAME UP WITH A CHANGE TO MY ORIGINAL PLANS FOR THIS STORY, AND AS SUCH I HAVE UPDATED THE DESCRIPTION. PLEASE READ THE ADDED SECTION IN PARENTHESIS AT THE END OF THE DESCRIPTION TO FIND OUT WHAT THAT CHANGE IS, THAT WAY YOU DON'T YELL AT ME OR TEAR INTO ME IN REVIEWS AFTER READING THE LAST PART OF THIS CHAPTER.**

* * *

After learning that the spot she was tasked with finding was located on the Eastern section of the island Cana immediately left the campsite. There were a few trail signs that she could see, and they all mentioned the direction that they pointed so she was easily able to orient herself. At first she wondered if this would be easier than they made it sound since there were signs to help point in the right direction, but then she noticed that they were blacked out on what exactly they pointed at. Which meant out of all the signs pointing towards the Eastern side of the island she didn't know which one would be pointing towards the grave. For all she knew the one that pointed the furthest South, would be the one that pointed towards the grave site instead of the one pointing directly East from the camp.

At least they didn't set a time limit. Though she felt there was one, since the trip was only supposed to take a few days. As she walked along the twisting path that she had chosen to search first, Cana couldn't help but wonder why they split her and Natsu up for this trial. They were supposed to be partners for the exam. Because she and Natsu had decided to partner up so quickly, Cana had forgotten that they were both chosen to participate.

Eventually she found that the path she'd chosen lead to the Eastern beach. Sighing she turned around to backtrack, and pick a different trail sign to follow. But as she got to around the half-way mark between the beach and the campsite an idea hit her.

"Why didn't I think of this sooner?"

She asked herself after pulling out her Tarot cards. As someone who used all forms of **Cards **magic, She could use her Tarot cards to do some fortune telling to figure out which path would lead her to the grave that she was supposed to locate for this test.

Unknown to her, from up in the tree's Laxus was watching her with a small smile. '_That should make this part go a lot faster. After all she has an exceptional skill as a fortune teller.' _He thought to himself, as he began moving again, tracking her from just outside of the range she could sense.

After he made his bet with Gildarts on who would find their location first, the duo of S-class mages split up so they could be ready to give the 3rd task to Natsu and Cana once they were finished. Since they knew when Natsu got serious he could beat Laxus even without his crimson flames, Gildarts was the one that got to follow the pink haired teen while Laxus got to follow Cana.

Because of her reading Cana was able to easily find the grave like she was tasked with. The moment she stepped into the clearing Laxus dropped down from the tree in front of her while clapping.

"Nice job. Oh, and thank you for realizing your magic would help find this place a lot sooner. Gramps wanted the easy trials to be finished today so the next few days could be focused on the hard stuff."

Cana was slightly surprised to find out that Laxus had been tailing her, but she brushed it aside rather quickly.

"Thanks I guess. So now what? Do we go back to the camp and wait for Natsu to be done or what?"

"As Gildarts said when he started this trial, You and Natsu may be partners but you are both participants for the S-class trials anyway. Which means you both get the same tests. This test and the one I'm about to give you are the only two that we're doing today that require you to be split up though."

"Oh. We partnered up so quickly I forgot about that. So what's this third trial then."

Cana responded after blinking as Laxus reminded her that both her and Natsu were being tested. Laxus just smirked.

"There is an item hidden in this area. You need to find it and protect it from me as you run back to the camp. Luckily for you I'm not supposed to make a move until you leave this clearing."

Cana's eyes went wide at her task. It wasn't a head on fight with Laxus, but that didn't mean it would be easy. Nor did it mean he wouldn't be giving it his all. As she started to search the clearing she thought about how to go about her task.

"Wait. You said protect the item from you. Does that mean you'll be targeting it instead of me?"

She asked after suddenly stopping her search when an idea hit her.

"I'll be targeting it or the area around you in an attempt to make you drop it for me to recover."

Laxus answered, confused as to why she wanted to know if she herself would be targeted. But other than smile, Cana did nothing to give her new plan away while she went back to looking for the item. She couldn't help but roll her eyes when she found it. Her hidden item was a little doll wearing a yellow sundress. It had flowing brown hair and a name tag that read "Cana" on it.

When Laxus saw her reaction to the doll he couldn't help but chuckle.

"This is one of the few tests that it doesn't matter if you pass or fail. But I'd recommend you protect that doll as best you can anyway."

He told her. While the **Lightning** mage couldn't outright tell the brunette why the doll was important he could give her a little hint. Especially when it could change the results of later tests. But Cana didn't move at all even after he spoke.

"Well? I can't do anything until you leave this clearing. But you have to get that doll back to the camp so standing around here won't do anything."

He commented, confused as to why she hadn't tried to run yet. But his eyes went wide when she pulled out a blank card from her deck of cards.

"**Card ****Dimension**!"

She chanted after supplying a bit of magic to the blank card in her hand. It absorbed the doll, an image reflecting the fact that the doll was now held inside the card proving that her spell worked.

"I didn't see that coming. You've outsmarted us this time. I'm not allowed to attack and harm you during this test so I can't make you cancel that spell."

Laxus muttered as Cana briskly began to walk back towards the campsite. Shaking his head he followed behind her, proud of the fact she was going above and beyond his expectations for the trials. Cana just smiled happily as she heard her trick was something they didn't predict.

When they got back to camp she pulled out the card and canceled her spell, so that she could show the master that her 'item' had made it back to safely. Erza was also up and moving again at that point. The red headed knight reacted in the same what Laxus had when she heard how Cana pulled it off.

"Nicely done Cana. Now we just have to wait for Natsu to bring his item back, so I can say the trials are done for the day."

Makarov told her with a smile on his face. Even though he knew Natsu wanted to fight Gildarts, he also knew the pink haired boy was a bit of a perfectionist and wouldn't allow himself to fail any part of the test, so he had no doubt Natsu would grudgingly escape Gildarts to pass the last trial of the day.

Cana smiled as well, glad to know that she was done for the day, and could finally relax. Since there wasn't really anything better to do she settled down on the ground, leaning up against a tree to nap. Laxus and Erza moved towards the food supplies they'd brought and began to prepare for dinner.

**Meanwhile**

"How hard can it be to find the ruins of an old home?"

Natsu grumbled to himself as he began climbing a tree to get a better view of the Northern part of the island. He didn't see anything that stood out so he dropped from the tree and began walking again, hoping that he was moving in the right direction at the very least.

As he followed the trail a strange sense of nostalgia came over him, but he couldn't figure out why. He could however tell he was being followed by Gildarts, so he knew there would likely be more to come after finding the spot he was supposed to, so he pushed the nostalgic feeling aside.

'_It's much to soon for us to meet again Natsu. But since you've found Fairy Tail it looks like I'll have to find a new place to nap until then.'_

A dark haired man with black clothes thought to himself when he noticed Natsu was on the island, and not too far from his current spot either. Since he was still half asleep he didn't have access to his power, which was a good thing since any use of it would instantly attract **that** monster. So he instead just began walking towards the nearest beach, intending to swim to another place he could rest easily until it was time.

But Natsu didn't know or notice any of this. A small blonde haired girl did however. She giggled to herself as the man left her island though. '_I __didn't think this would happen, but I'll use it to my advantage!__.'_ She thought to herself before making her way towards the ruins of her old home, happily whistling as she moved through the jungle that covered the island.

"Man, this is boring… Maybe I should try climbing another tree?"

Natsu mumbled as he stopped walking again. Selecting another tree he once again scaled up to the highest vantage point he could get. This time his idea worked and he could see what looked like the broken down remains of a few old stone homes.

Rather than hop down and forget what direction he was facing Natsu twisted his body so he could use the tree as a spring board. Jumping off he used just a bit of his magic to create flames to propel his jump even further. Thanks to his fire he managed to not only jump further, but at a fast enough pace to make it so he reached the edge of the clearing the ruins sat in before he even touched the ground.

Gildarts had seen what Natsu was planing to do even as he followed from a distance, so the moment he saw the teen preparing to jump he made his own way towards the ruins instead. But Natsu was faster, so he didn't arrive in time to witness the same small, girly, and blonde figure wondering into one of the ruined homes that Natsu did. He did however arrive quick enough to catch Natsu before he could enter any of the buildings.

"Not bad Natsu. You found the place pretty easily. Now it's time for your next test."

He commented as he placed a hand on the pink haired teens shoulder. But Natsu wasn't able to forget about the figure he'd seen.

"Hey Gildarts?"

"Yeah?"

"Is there supposed to be anyone else on the island?"

Shaking his head Gildarts answered.

"The master, me, Laxus, Erza, Cana, and you. That's it. Why?"

"I could have sworn I just saw a little blonde girl walk into one of those homes."

Natsu responded. They weren't talking very loudly but the wind did carry their voices enough for the blonde figure that had tried to sneak into her old home to hear. '_Well I was going to just talk to him and make him think he was recalling some repressed memories from before Igneel found him. But that spell is still holding strong so they can see me..._' She thought to herself as tears came to her eyes. She dearly wanted to be able to talk face to face with the pink haired boy, so she found herself quite pleased that the spell that allowed members of Fairy Tail to see her still held strong.

"Are you sure you weren't just seeing things kid?"

Gildarts asked. He knew Natsu's highly enhanced senses could be trusted, but he also didn't think anyone else could be on the island. That didn't stop him from tensing slightly when Natsu mentioned seeing a person though.

"My senses have never let me down."

Natsu responded hotly, a little upset that the older mage didn't seem to trust his words. But before Gildarts could respond his eyes became the size of dinner plates, something the orange haired man noticed, which caused him to look as well.

Walking straight to them with a happy face and eyes full of tears was a small blonde girl with jade green eyes. She had on a layered and frilly pink robe and a headband with what seemed like small wing-like adornments. She gave off a powerful yet gentle feeling aura, but for some reason the only word that came to mind when the two men looked at her was 'fairy'.

It took a minute but Gildarts and Natsu managed to shake themselves from the stupor they had at her appearance. They were on guard since no one else was supposed to be on the island, but it was more of a tensing of muscles, to show they were ready to fight if they had to, instead of actually shifting their stances into one more suited for fighting.

"I find myself at a loss here. No one else should be on this island, so do you mind if I ask who you are and how you got here?"

Gildarts called to her, as her approach slowed when she realized they both saw her. But Natsu held his hand up.

"We can clearly see her, and we can feel her presence. We can even hear her approaching, but there's one problem. As a Dragon Slayer my strongest sense is my sense of smell. But I can't find any trace of her scent wise."

The confusion in his tone made it clear to Gildarts that something was wrong with the girl making her way towards them. When he noticed the tears in her eyes, he felt there was something strange about her too. But she never answered Gildarts. Her actions did show that they didn't need to fight however.

When she was close enough for them to see every detail of her face as clear as day, she slowly and gently reached out a hand cupped Natsu's cheek. Her tears were falling faster and faster at that point, making the two wonder what exactly was happening. But then she wrapped her arms around Natsu and began sobbing, but the sound made the two realize she was crying because she was happy.

It was still extremely confusing for them, but Natsu felt a connection with the girl for some reason. So he slowly came to hug her back, one arm gently draped over her shoulder while the other came around her side to rest on her back and drawing small circles in a comforting motion. Looking at Gildarts he used his eyes to plead for advice on what to do but the older man just shrugged, before settling down on the remains of a nearby wall to sit and watch everything unfold. '_Either this makes our S-class trials far more complicated, or far more interesting.'_ He thought to himself.

(**A/N: Again, for those of you that don't read the notes before or after the story, I've added a change to the original plan for this story which can now be read in a set of parenthesis in the story description. So please check that out before yelling at me in your reviews.)**

When the blonde girl finally stopped crying and calmed down, she squeezed Natsu tighter before letting go and stepping back to stop. Since she had ignored Gildarts when he spoke to her while she was approaching them, he didn't bother to stand up or try again. The **Crash** mage had figured out she was going to focus on Natsu and figured the pink haired brat would ask the questions for him.

"I'm sorry about that, I was just so overcome with joy to see you again."

She spoke, Natsu's face contorted to show his confusion at that.

"Of course you don't remember me. You were too young and too little to have any memories of that time."

"But you look younger than I am."

Natsu responded when she explained why he didn't remember her.

"After saving a friends life with an extremely powerful spell I wasn't ready to cast, my bodies growth was stunted. I was 12 at the time, but biologically I'm 24. Neither of those ages actually matter anymore since what you see before you is just an extremely advanced and high level **Thought Projection**."

"No wonder I can't smell anything from you."

Natsu replied after hearing that it wasn't a physical body in front of him.

"Well, I guess 24 isn't technically right to say about my biological age right now. More like that's how old I was when my body went comatose. Which is why I'm a projection instead of a human body right now. If you told me what year it is I could give you my actual age."

Natsu and Gildarts both went wide eyed upon hearing even just a small portion of her circumstances. But then Gildarts recalled an old memory of his that left him reeling in shock as he figured out who the blonde haired woman was.

"But I digress. That's not really important right now. What is important is how I know you, and what you need to know. Please listen to everything I say, even if the next few words out of my mouth anger you."

The woman commented with a sad smile as she looked Natsu dead in the eyes. He just nodded his head after a moment. He could tell she was about to give him some very serious information that he couldn't afford to not learn.

"You, Natsu Dragneel are my son… I would say who your father is, but for right now, it's best that you don't know."

Here she gulped, hoping that Natsu wouldn't be angry to finally meet his true parents. Well parent. But when she looked into his eyes, she didn't see anger, or hurt, only confusion. Since he hadn't said anything she realized he was allowing her to continue with her story.

"Because you were born to two extraordinarily powerful mages, and with an ungodly amount of magic for a newborn child to have you were targeted by many extremist groups. Even though I would have gladly given my life to protect you I couldn't risk my friends lives as well. So after a heartbreaking decision I teamed up with a friend of mine to use an extremely rare, and most likely forbidden form or magic that her family had passed down, to send you through time. Thanks to another spell that she could use we were able to coordinate with one of her ancestors to see that you would find someone that could keep you safe."

Natsu was confused, if he was supposed to have been sent to the past, then how could he be in the same time as his mother. Voicing his confusion to her he noticed a small frown appear on her face. He didn't expect an answer though. But she spoke up.

"This friend and I managed to arrange it so that you would be protected by Igneel. I later learned through research into books that have since been destroyed, that when a dragon begins to teach a human their magic, it alters the humans bodies and if left unchecked the human will become a dragon. Which is what happened to the black dragon Acnologia. But the time you had been sent to was around the time Acnologia began to rise in infamy."

"Okay… But that doesn't tell me how I'm back into the future."

Natsu responded, though she could tell he was interested in her explanation.

"I only know what happened next because my friend and I were told by her ancestor… In order to escape the extinction of their species by Acnologia, the dragons made a deal with someone else, that had a similar ability to their family's magic to travel time. In order to prevent their adopted children from becoming a dragon and going berserk like Acnologia had, the dragons would seal themselves inside the bodies of their adoptive children and that new person would sent the children to a different time."

Natsu wasn't sure he understood everything completely but he did comprehend enough of it.

"So basically to protect me, I was sent to the past where Igneel raised me. But to protect me, again, I was sent back into the future."

* * *

S.R: Am I making things convoluted enough for ya? Lol, trust me, I have a plan. Kinda. Sorta. Hopefully. Nah, I'm just messing with you guys. I had this idea and it would help put Natsu on equal grounds with Zeref and Acnologia later on. Anyway I'll see you guys with the next update.


	8. Chapter 8

S.R: Okay so by take a break from the story (in my authors note at the end of the most recent chapter of "**The Unexpected Family**") what I really meant was come work on the next chapter for this story and then take a break. Before I get to the story though I have to respond to a guest review. At least they were kind enough to give themselves a nickname so I don't have to call them a guest.

Review:

Welp I'm not a dumb hater but don't ya think is a little unoriginal to go about Natsu be the son of Zeref and Mavis?...Tho still kinda curious whacha gonna do with this plot change...

Oh before I forget about him again...

(YOU HEARTLESS MONSTER! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH POOR AUGUST!?) -Firedrakes

My reply:

Yeah it is unoriginal, but so what. Theoretically none of this story is original, I could just be the only person to have had the idea AND be willing to write it down to share with everyone. Glad to know you're curious as to how it will change things later on though.

As for August…. Remember, he was technically born during/after Mavis went comatose, so he can still exist in this story as Natsu's younger brother. Which he will. But another change I'm making is that Zeref will actually know about his connection with August (Serious how the hell didn't he notice it in canon?). Mavis won't since her **Thought Projection** wasn't present when he was born, having already hidden herself on Tenrou island.

* * *

**REFRESHING DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL OR ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS.**

* * *

As he let everything he'd just learned sink in, Natsu stared off into the distance. But the small smile gracing his face led Mavis to feel hope that his emotions in regards to her were positive rather than negative like she'd first expected.

While there were still a few extremely important details for her to tell him, she had decided to hold off on that. Instead she was wanting to take the time to get to know her son properly. So while he processed her words, she turned towards Gildarts to finally acknowledge his presence.

"After I mentioned my body being comatose, you seemed to have had a realization… You know who I am don't you?"

"Mavis Vermillion the first guild master and one of the four founding members of Fairy Tail."

The orange haired man responded with a respectful tone.

"Given when you realized it I guess you are the current guild master?"

She asked, wanting to be certain the guilds biggest secret was still a secret.

"A few years back, the current guild master told me that when he decided to step down I was the person he wanted to take his place, along with showing me all the big secrets that only the masters should be privy to. So it's more like I'll be the next master."

"I see. Would you mind telling me how many masters has Fairy Tail had?"

"We're currently lead by the Third master, Makarov Dreyar."

Mavis smiled at the name since it brought back memories.

"So little Maki is the one in charge right now. That's good to know."

"Little Maki?"

Gildarts questioned a bit confused by the nickname. After all Bob, who had left Fairy Tail a couple years ago to form his own guild was the only person he'd ever heard call Makarov the name Maki.

"I was there when he was born. So to me he'll always be little. The Maki part comes from the nickname his mom had for him. She always called him her Maki."

Even though he was paying close attention to Mavis, Gildarts couldn't help but snicker in his head. '_I'm not letting him live that one down._' He thought in regards to the old man that was the current guild master.

"So why exactly are some members of Fairy Tail here on Tenrou island?"

"Because we tend to destroy things, Makarov decided to hold the S-class trials here on the island where we don't have to worry about paying to fix things. You'll be happy and proud to know that Natsu is actually one of the two people being tested for S-class this time."

Mavis's eyes lit up at that and her smile seemed to become even more radiant.

"I knew my son would be awesome! But he doesn't seem to be much older than a young teenager yet which makes him even cooler!"

She giggled with glee, which was something not even Gildarts could avoid smiling at.

"Yeah, the kids amazing alright. As of right now I'm the strongest in the guild… But I'm willing to bet without a doubt that he'll take my title as the guild's Ace by the time he's 21."

"As much as I enjoy learning about my son, would you mind if I asked you to give him and I some time alone? I'd like to get to know him better, and there's still a few things to tell him that others shouldn't hear about just yet."

"Of course… But are you going to reveal yourself or should I stay quiet about this?"

The **Crash** mage commented as he stood up from his seat on the broken wall.

"I'll come to your camp with Natsu when we're done talking. But I won't head back to the mainland yet. There's a certain someone that knows I'm still technically alive right now and I'm hiding from them."

Mavis answered. Around this time Natsu finally finished letting himself digest all the stuff he'd been told. His first order of buisness was to hug Mavis and call her 'mom', which brought a very happy smile to her face.

"I don't care if someone's looking for you. They'll have to deal with me! Now that I've found you I'm not willing to let go that easily."

He told her, revealing that he'd heard what she told Gildarts before he walked off back to the camp.

"As happy as I am to hear that, I can't go along with it. You'll understand when I tell you why. But for now I just want to hear about you. Tell me about how your life has been Natsu."

Mavis replied in a resigned tone, though she did sound happier when she asked him to talk about himself.

**Back At Camp**

"Gildarts where's Natsu?"

"You won't believe me."

Gildarts responded when Cana asked him about her boyfriend. His tone made it sound like something extremely important had happened though.

"Hey master we've got to talk. Privately."

With that the two men left the camp.

"What was that all about?"

Laxus asked, as he and Erza came to stand beside Cana, just as confused as the brunette was.

"Hell if I know. But I'm worried. Natsu shouldn't be taking this long should he?"

"It's alright Cana. Whenever something happens during the trials we're supposed to go straight to the master first. He has to be the first to know. So when they're done talking we can easily find out."

Erza commented as she placed a gauntlet covered hand on Cana's shoulders. It would have been a nice and supportive effort if it weren't for the fact that with the gauntlet on it felt more like she was trying to slap Cana's shoulder into the ground.

"WHAT?!"

The trio heard the sound of the guild master screaming. But the tone just seemed to be general surprise and shock rather than anything bad. Which meant they could rule out something bad happening to Natsu.

After a moment of silence Makarov and Gildarts strolled into camp. The guild master seemed to have a spring to his step. Since Gildarts had mentioned what Mavis said to him, Makarov felt it would be okay to tell them.

"I know you're curious now and I'll tell you about what's going on in a moment but first... What I am about to tell you is an S-class secret. No one else can know alright?"

"What about me master? I'm not S-class yet."

Cana asked, a bit worried she would be excluded in hearing what was going on with Natsu.

"Considering you and Natsu are together it's alright for you to know, but the fact it's a secret still applies."

Cana nodded happily, since she wasn't going to be left out of the loop.

"To make a long story short, the guild's first master Mavis Vermillion had a friend that bound her soul in such a way that so long as someone still lives that is a member of Fairy Tail she can still technically 'live'. But to avoid it becoming public knowledge her spirit has been hiding out on the island."

"So Natsu's in the middle of a chat with the first guild master then?"

Laxus commented, his tone telling them he was just a little jealous.

"Oh but there's more to it than that. She had most of the records destroyed, only leaving one copy of them all for the current guild master but… Mavis was once married and had a son. But he was targeted by extremist groups due to his large magic reserves. Because she couldn't risk the guild, Mavis and a good friend of hers used a very rare form of magic to send her child through time."

He paused to take a breath but the three in front of him already knew where he was going.

"Natsu is her son isn't he?"

Cana questioned.

**Back To Natsu And Mavis**

"I would love for this to go on, but I can't put off telling you the rest any longer."

Mavis commented after Natsu told her about how he and Cana were essentially raising a blue cat that could fly.

"The person looking for me works for your father. But he's not the man he was when I married him. Not to mention that person looking for me is devoutly loyal to him. Enough to kill herself should he tell her to."

"I'll just kick their ass, no problem. Then I'll go and kick dad's ass for making you worry."

Natsu commented only to be slapped upside the head for cursing.

"NO! You are to stay away from him until it's time for you to properly meet."

"Why? What's so wrong about him?"

Mavis was quiet for a moment as she tried to find a way to explain it.

"Your father was cursed long ago. This curse made him immortal. But it also gave him powers that he couldn't control… These powers would kill anything and everything around him when they activated. In fact he was already a few centuries old when I met him though I didn't know any of that until much later. For some strange reason we were never able to figure out I was the one thing his powers couldn't kill when they activated though."

"So I can't go near him until we're sure I have the same immunity you do?"

Natsu asked, wanting to speed the conversation along. He really didn't like sitting through long drawn out stories and explanations.

"Not quite….When he and I met, he was a kind man and very afraid of his power. But I fell in love with him. It wasn't until a few years later when I got the chance to meet him again that I married him. At first, aside from having to keep things a secret things were okay. But I slowly began to notice things. It wasn't until I heard him talking to himself one night that I realized he had changed from the man he was when I'd first met him. It was then that I learned exactly how his life had gone after he'd been cursed."

She paused to take a breath here, and Natsu could see that it pained her to talk about it. So he gave her hand a comforting squeeze.

"Every fifty years or so he'd suffer from amnesia, and have a softer, kinder personality. Like he had when I first met him. But he'd recover and revert to the coldhearted and violent man he had become thanks to the constant killing his curse caused."

Natsu was quiet here as he could tell she was trying to tell him about the man that was his father without leaving anything out.

"Shortly after you were born I learned his true name. It's one even you know. Everyone in the world knows his name. Fanatical groups and religions that worshiped him have sprung up through the centuries."

She was tearing up again as she spoke. Natsu could tell that even after all this time his mother struggled to separate the amnesiac man that she had known from the man he truly was. He knew that she didn't want to believe the man she loved, could have been the one that all those twisted people she had fought to protect him from, had worshiped as a god.

"Your father is known as the Black Wizard the world over. He is Zeref Dragneel, the one largely considered to be the most evil mage of all time."

Mavis finally managed to tell him. Considering Natsu didn't really care for his studies about history when Cana was teaching him, the name wasn't something he instantly recognized, but when he did a long forgotten memory came to mind.

"He's the one the dragons asked to send us Dragon Slayers into the future."

Mavis nodded. She remembered standing beside her dear friend, chatting with the ancestor that they'd been communicating with in regards to making sure Natsu was safe. That woman had told them 'My friend Igneel, the one that is raising Natsu, made a deal with a strange man the other day. I don't know the exact details, but from what Igneel told me, he and the other dragons are hoping to send their children through time with a slightly more reliable method than mine.' When she heard about the man's appearance Mavis had instantly known it was her husband, though long before they had met.

"I understand he's dangerous and all that. But you still haven't really told me why it's not time for me to meet him. Or well, meet him again since I was there the day he and Igneel made that deal."

Natsu commented. When she looked at her sons eyes, Mavis could see he was determined to make it so his father would never make her cry again. It warmed her heart to see that she had such a caring son, one who still loved her despite all that had happened.

"The real reason I sent you to the past isn't just because all the fanatical groups that were after you to be used as a sacrifice, but because it was all I could do to stop his experimenting on you. By the time I had realized he was different and figured out what was going on, Zeref had already begun trying to turn you into one of his demons. If he had finished you would be a full blooded demon that he could bind to one of his books. Which is why I wanted a strong dragon to raise you when I sent you the past."

"That's right!"

Natsu exclaimed as he remembered what she said about how Acnologia came to be. When a human learned the magic of a dragon it altered their being, making them a weird mix of human and dragon. So she was trying to make him a mix of demon and dragon. If he wasn't a full blooded demon then Zeref wouldn't be able to bind him to a book and make him follow his bidding.

"I see you've figured it out. The problem is so long as Igneel is sealed inside you to prevent you from becoming a dragon instead, Zeref could still bind you to a book, because your draconic essence is dormant and could be overwritten should he attempt to convert you into a full blooded demon. Hence why it isn't time for you to meet your father properly yet."

"And you have to stay here so Zeref can't use you as leverage against me before then."

"That's right. Especially since he already knows all this, just like we do. But you're lucky in the fact that he can't make a move to turn you into a demon without a few things in particular."

Mavis responded sadly though she tried to get him to see the silver lining with the last part of her statement. She also had a frown on her face since Natsu was calling the man Zeref instead of father, but she didn't say anything. After all Igneel was his adoptive father, and she was sure that he would sooner call the Fire Dragon King his father than he would Zeref after all he'd heard. Natsu was beginning to tear up now that he fully understood his situation in regards to his parents.

"It isn't right! I just found you but I can't stay with you, and you've helped me learn where Igneel is but I can't see him either."

The blonde woman pulled her son into a hug as she attempted to calm him down.

"It's alright. I've got a few tricks that can make things easier for you."

She offered as he focused on her to avoid crying.

"What do you mean?"

"Well as my son you should be able to use my magic too. That means I can teach you all kinds of spells including one that might help you talk to Igneel again."

As much as he wanted to learn all she had to teach him Natsu had to hold himself back.

"I would like that, and I really want to learn all the spells you can teach me right now, but we're in the middle of the S-class trials."

Mavis just nodded, having recalled that Gildarts mentioned the same fact. She smiled after a moment telling her son "We'll figure it out. After all I need to talk to Little Maki about all this."

Natsu burst out laughing at the nickname she had for the short man. Mavis smiled at that, glad to see that he wasn't still upset.

"Oh boy, I am never letting gramps live that one down."

Natsu spoke, unaware that he wasn't the only one planning to tease the third guild master about the nickname. Since they didn't really have anything else to talk about that needed to remain a secret Mavis and Natsu began the trek back to the campsite.

When they walked into view of the camp Cana rushed up to Natsu before pulling him into a hug. He was a bit embarrassed since Mavis was right next to them, but the blonde woman was giggling like a school girl. After Cana pulled away and noticed the form of Mavis beside Natsu, she blushed as well. They both nearly fainted when Mavis finally spoke however.

"Oh my boy has good tastes. You're already very beautiful but I can just tell that once you've fully matured you'll be quite the looker. I approve!"

* * *

S.R: I can't stop laughing at that last line. Otherwise this might have gone on for a bit longer. But aside from being unable to stop laughing at it I also felt that was a nice place to end the chapter. Anyway I'll see you next time!


	9. Chapter 9

S.R: This was going to be out sooner but work got in the way. We went from 1 to 20 on a scale of 1 to 10 for how busy we were at work… Anyway, since **Currahee506** asked so nicely here you go. Here is more of the story.

* * *

After Mavis got tired of teasing Natsu and Cana, and secretly fantasizing about the grand-babies they could give her, the blonde woman turned towards the current guild master.

"Wow you've grown old."

She commented with a smile. Laxus and Erza had been watching the entire time with confusion evident on their faces. If the blonde girl was the first guild master… Then she was very carefree and playful, the two thought.

"I have no comeback to that. But when Gildarts told me about how you revealed yourself to Natsu, I recalled the green notebook Precht had given me with all your notes. So let's put the playfulness aside for the moment and get serious."

Mavis pouted at that, she wanted to have a bit of fun before getting serious again. Especially since it had been so long since she'd talked to anyone. It was a strangely adorable sight to the few guild members that were on Tenrou island. But after a moment she agreed and the two moved away to talk in private.

"Well that was a thing."

Laxus commented as he finally recovered from the shock he had received at seeing Mavis act so childishly. Erza, Natsu, and Cana all nodded in agreement.

"I have a feeling things are about to change, and we aren't going to be doing the rest of the trials. Or at least if we do continue, the trials will be significantly different from how we planned them with the master."

Gildarts commented as he looked towards Laxus and Erza. The three of them had been heavily involved in the planning and creation of the trials this time.

"Yeah, but that's okay. Things can't always go according to plan."

Laxus replied. Erza frowned, a little upset at the idea of their well thought out plans falling apart so easily.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm pretty hungry. Think gramps would be mad if we ate without him?"

Natsu commented after his stomach grumbled. It was such an unexpected thing that it made everyone laugh before settling down to eat, though they made sure to leave enough for Makarov when he came back from the private discussion with Mavis. Luckily their talk didn't take too long as he was able to join them before the meal was over. After everyone finished eating the guild master sighed.

"As of this moment the S-class trials are over. Instead we're going to be doing some special training for the next two days instead. Personally I feel both Natsu and Cana are worthy of S-class so when we return to the guild we shall tell them things went as planned and you both will be promoted."

Laxus, Erza, and Cana were surprised to hear the change to their plans. After all while it was somewhat expected that Natsu would get to spend the rest of their time on the island with the first guild master to make up for lost time, they weren't sure what the rest of them would be doing. Gildarts wasn't really surprised to hear that they'd be taking advantage of the rest of their time on the island despite the fact the trials were now finished. Natsu wasn't either, having expected things to be this way after his mother mentioned wanting to teach him.

Since they now knew that they were going to be S-class, even if it wasn't official the pink haired teen did look over to his girlfriend with a smile and a nod. It was his signal, after all over the last few years he'd been helping her become more confident and proud as she grew stronger. So he personally felt she had reached her goal of becoming strong enough and confident enough to tell Gildarts about their connection.

No one besides Cana noticed his gesture however. His eyes seemed to sparkle with happiness, and pride for her, so when Cana saw his look she couldn't help but blush. '_Natsu thinks I'm ready._' She thought to herself, having easily figured out what his look was for. With a deep breath to steady herself she spoke up.

"I don't have a problem with that, but there is one thing I have to say… I'm sure you guys have all noticed how I've been working hard with Natsu as my teacher to grow stronger and gain confidence in myself. Back when he first came to the guild I asked for his help in doing so, because of something I need to get off my chest."

Makarov smiled as he realized what was about to happen. Laxus and Erza both looked at the brunette in confusion, and curiosity at what she needed to say. Natsu was smiling at her with a hand raised, giving her a thumbs up. Gildarts recalled a few years ago when she mentioned there was something she needed to tell him but that she wasn't ready then. Turning to face her, the orange haired **Crash** mage had a gentle smile on his face as he was all set to listen.

"As you know I was raised by my mom on her own and she died when I was six. She had split up with my father before they even knew she was pregnant with me, and she never tried to reconnect with him after… When she passed away my mom told me who my father is, and where to find him. So I came to Fairy Tail, but when I met him… It intimidated me. He had made a name for himself and was remarkably strong. So much so, that I didn't feel worthy of being related to him. Honestly speaking I still don't feel worthy of being called his daughter, but… I have to say it now, before I loose my nerve again. Gildarts you are my dad."

Natsu and Makarov both smiled happy that she had finally gotten that off her chest. The pink haired teen would have hugged her, but he was beaten to it by the **Crash** mage, who was already shedding a few tears. Laxus and Erza clapped, happy to see their guild mate getting what seemed like some well needed closure.

For his part, Gildarts had figured out where she was going the moment she mentioned that she'd been intimidated by him. Back when he was with her mother, he was one of Fairy Tail's S-class. But a year after that, several others left the guild and he became the only S-class. In order to keep the guild afloat he pushed himself beyond his limits and truly earned his title of Fairy Tail's Ace. Cana had come to the guild after that, so it made sense that hearing about him, and seeing how strong he'd become had scared her.

"Hey gramps, since I'll be training with my mom, why don't you let Cana and Gildarts do some training together too. It'll be a bonding experience for them."

Natsu commented getting a nod from Makarov.

"That sounds like a fine idea. Laxus and Erza can use the time to spar with each other, and I'll get started on some of the things your mother and I had discussed."

**The Next Day**

"Alright, Natsu I know you're eager but I need your attention."

Calming down after he heard his mom speak, Natsu turned to the blonde woman with an attentive look. She smiled as he showcased just how dedicated he was to learning the new magic she was going to teach him.

"I know you want to learn as much as you can, and I do intend to help you learn all that I can teach you, but I need to explain some things first."

"Go on."

"As my son, you inherited my magic, but I don't know if you have the same level of affinity I do. So for now I'm going to focus on the general spells that anyone can learn. For example, I will be teaching you how to make the same advanced level of **Thought Projection** that I'm using right now. I'll also be teaching you a special form of **Telepathy** to allow you to communicate with Igneel again."

She and Natsu both smiled at that. Mavis because she knew just how happy it would make Natsu. Natsu smiled because he dearly wanted to talk with Igneel again.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but I do have a question. You have knowledge of a lot of different types of magic, but what kind of magic did I inherit from you?"

"That's a very good question. Most people would assume the magic I became known for after we founded Fairy Tail was my natural magic, but that's not the case. My natural magic is **Illusion** magic, which also happens to be the magic you inherited from me."

Despite the fact he had seen **Illusion** magic users before, Natsu was excited to learn it from her. After all Makarov had told him she was a master beyond masters with her magic. Which would mean her spells would be far more interesting.

"I'm happy to see you're still excited but I need to get back to my explanations."

Natsu nodded, allowing her to pick back up where he had interrupted her.

"**Illusion** magic will be the last thing I teach you. For today we're going to focus on the advanced **Thought Projection**, as if you can sufficiently master it we can take as much time as we need for everything else."

The pink haired teen instantly understood why that would be the spell they'd start with. If he could use **Thought Projection** then whenever he wanted to learn more, he could place his body in a secure location and send a mental copy of himself back to the island similar to what Mavis was already doing. Though he was a little upset the special form of **Telepathy** wasn't first, he agreed that the **Thought Projection** would be more beneficial to start with.

"Alright then. Let's get started."

Natsu replied.

**With Cana**

"I'll be honest. I'm not really sure what to do right now."

Gildarts commented with a sigh as he spoke to his daughter.

"Why?"

"Well your **Cards **magic is extremely versatile. Enough so that I don't think it would be beneficial to teach you **Crash **magic. I mean, just use a blank card to absorb one of my spells, and viola, you can use it, without needing to learn **Crash** magic itself."

The older mage was completely correct in his assessment of her magic. So long as she had a blank spell card available she could use it to defend herself and learn a new spell in the process.

"But wouldn't I need to have enough magic to do that? I mean I copied one of Natsu's roars back when he first started helping me train and I couldn't activate that card for a few months because I wasn't used to using that much magic… He's got a truly absurd magic container. If he could cast his roar with the amount of magic stored in his pinky compared to me who would completely exhaust my magic container to cast it once I first could."

Gildarts had to shake his head at that, mostly to avoid laughing in her face. Since he'd been watching over her for years before she revealed their connection the night before, he knew that she was smart and capable. But to not realize why it was such a struggle for her to use that card. It was funny.

"Cana, you know that's not true… Well yeah he does have a massive magic container, but it's not so large that it would dwarf yours that badly."

"How else can you explain why it takes so much of my magic to use that card with his roar compared to how much magic he uses?"

"It's simple. His magic, **Dragon Slaying** magic, is a form of Lot magic, and even before it was labeled as a Lost magic it was an extremely rare magic. Because it's so powerful it's hard to control for one. But also because there are so few ways to learn. With that being the case why should it be easy to copy?"

But Cana still didn't understand what he meant. He could see in her eyes that she wasn't quite grasping what he was trying to say. So he gave the longer version of his reasoning.

"It's a powerful magic, that is very hard to control, especially when you don't learn it in a natural way. It's going to take more magic for you to use the card that absorbed his roar, when compared to him, because of that. I mean his magic provides the control, and he learned it in a natural way so he only has to use magic to provide the power for his spell. Where as you, you aren't casting that spell in a natural way so you have to provide more magic to make it work. Then you have to spend some of your magic to control it, and finally you are also providing the magic to power it. Once you get used to using that card, you should only require three times the amount of magic he does."

As she thought about his explanation Cana tilted her head in thought. Certainly it made more sense to her now that she had it explained why she was using more magic than Natsu would. It also explained why she had to use so much magic to use it right now. She hadn't gotten used to uses the card that had absorbed Natsu's roar so her version of the spell was nowhere near refined enough to be efficient magic wise. But that would come through practicing.

"What about your **Crash** magic then?"

"Well, for starters it isn't a Lost magic, and there are plenty of ways someone can learn it, so you don't have to worry about it that much. You'd only need to use the same level of magic I use to cast the spell, and just a little extra for the control aspect. All in all I'd guess you would have to spend maybe 1.2 times the amount I do to use a card that absorbs one of my **Crash** spells."

Cana just looked at her father. Rather than voice the fact that in terms of magic he was a monster, she let the expression on her face do the talking. But Gildarts just rolled his eyes.

"You do know that I didn't start out this strong right? Besides that, as my daughter you have the same potential I do. In fact you should have even more potential. I mean you are only fourteen yet you're strong enough to be S-class. I didn't start learning to use my magic till I was ten, and I joined Fairy Tail at fifteen, but I didn't make S-class till I was twenty-three. In other words it took me thirteen years to do what you've done in eight. You aren't born strong, no, you work hard and make yourself strong. Just like I did."

The orange haired man told his daughter. She had said she didn't feel worthy to be his daughter because he had become one of the best in Fairy Tail, which he could understand. But his mentality was 'anyone can do anything so long as they work hard enough.' So he didn't understand why she hadn't truly grown confident in her power after she had pushed herself to become strong enough to feel worthy of calling herself his daughter. Of course she didn't truly believe it yet, she just announced it because Natsu gave her a little push.

But after hearing his earnest and forthright talk about his own experiences Cana couldn't help but be shocked, confused about how she had the potential to become an even larger monster than her father in terms of magic and power. Even though it was through her own effort, neither of the two realized it was only because of Natsu's help that she had grown so rapidly. Because he based his teaching methods off of Igneel's lessons that he had taken.

Because of her silence, Gildarts realized his daughter was thinking about his words and trying to understand that she should and would have no problems with his statement of how she could use a blank card to absorb one of his spells. So he began thinking about how to help her improve even more, like their original plan was. '_All I can really do is show her the methods I used to grow stronger… But that doesn't have any short term effects that could help her showcase just how strong she currently is. Unless...'_

"Come on. I have an idea on how to make this little two day training session work."

**Two Days Later**

"I can't go back to the mainland with you all just yet. But if the rest of Fairy Tail is just as wonderful as you all I'm happy."

Mavis told them as the group of Fairy Tail wizards stood on the shore waiting to get back onto their boat to return home. None of them said anything in response. Mostly because the whole situation was awkward since she was clinging to and fussing over Natsu.

"Mom, please stop trying to fix my hair. It's always been this way and I kinda like it."

Natsu complained to her when she tried to smooth out his wild hair. Despite the fact he had taken to the fact she was his mother without an issue, it still made her happy to hear him acknowledging it.

"Remember you can use that **Soul Link** spell I taught you to talk to me as well as Igneel."

"Yeah, I know. You had me test it with you just to make sure I learned it properly."

"I hope you don't get so caught up in using it to talk with Igneel that you forget about me."

Mavis responded with a fake sniffle. She knew Natsu wouldn't forget to chat with her that easily, but she had to tease him in an attempt to make up for lost time.

"Mom, how could I forget about you. I want to make up for lost time just as much as you do."

Normally at this point Gildarts would have been fed up with watching the two and would start getting vocal about needing to go. But he was distracted by his attempts to be a doting father for his newly discovered daughter. Laxus was getting antsy but he didn't want to be rude, and Erza was trying to be polite given the fact she understood that Natsu and Mavis didn't want to say goodbye just yet. In the end it was Makarov who stepped forward and cut the mother and son duo off.

"I really don't want to be rude, but we do have to go. If it helps as the current guild master I give Natsu permission to come and go freely from Tenrou island. He can come and visit whenever he wants."

"I was going to do that anyway gramps. But does that mean I have to come by myself? Cause I'd love to be able to bring Cana back here, and maybe even Happy."

Makarov and Mavis both noticed the look on his face. The look that told them he wanted to explore the island a bit more.

"So long as you stop by and say hi I don't mind if you explore the island a bit. Or if you bring Cana back for a date."

Mavis commented with a giggle. Since she had given the okay Makarov did too. But it still took the short man another ten minutes to separate the two and get the group on the boat to return to Magnolia. When they entered the guild, everyone was there excited to hear the results. So rather than deny them Makarov strode straight for the stage.

"As with every year I must announce the results of the S-class trials so everyone can congratulate the participants and we can celebrate together as a guild. So, without further ado I give you Fairy Tail's newest S-class… Natsu Dragneel and Cana Alberona!"

Since he felt a simple and short speech would be best, he gave a quick announcement of the results. Then he sucked in a breath.

"Now let's party!"

* * *

S.R: Now this was only uploaded because I can't sleep. So for those of you that read all my stories just know this is the only update for a bit. But I'll see you guys next time!


	10. Chapter 10

S.R: Well, with this chapter finished the next chapter will start the canon material.

"words" - Talking

'_words' - _Thought

**'**_**words' - **_Dragon's thoughts

* * *

The guild partied long into the night after Makarov announced that Natsu and Cana both had been promoted to S-class.

Gray was jealous, just like everyone predicted, but they also knew he wouldn't truly make a big deal out of it. The entire guild knew that he and Natsu were good friends even if they refused to admit it. After all Cana, Erza, Gray, Laxus, Levy, and Mira were the ones he interacted with the most, especially after Lisanna had passed away.

Other than the slight grumbling from Gray there wasn't anything else unique about the party, since Fairy Tail was almost always partying. Which was why most of them woke up on the floor the next morning.

As an earlier riser Natsu was one of the first to wake. Stretching his limbs out, he thought about sneaking away so he could try making a **Soul Link**, with Igneel like his mother had shown him. But when he started to stand a quiet voice caught his attention.

"We've never been on the same level, but I swear I'll catch up with you."

Gray spoke. It actually confused Natsu for a moment. They were well aware of the fact that the two of them communicated far better through their fists than with their words. Both young teens knew that the rest of the guild was aware of that fact as well, which was why no one really tried to step in when they would butt heads.

But he recovered from his confusion as he realized exactly what Gray was admitting to, and what he was trying to say.

"Yeah, I know you will… and Thanks."

While he was surprised to hear Gray finally admit that they weren't equals despite the fact that they were rivals as well as friends, Natsu understood it was the **Ice Make** mage's way of saying 'congrats on making S-class.'

Gray just grunted in response, turning away to go back to doing his own thing. So Natsu took that as a sign that their talk was over.

"If anyone asks, I'll be back in a bit."

The pink haired teen told his friend, knowing there was a chance that the others would notice he was gone when they woke up. Raising a thumbs up in acknowledgment Gray went back to walking towards the bar to get some food.

So Natsu left the guild and made his way towards the house he had built. Well, he and Gildarts had built. The second time he met the older mage back when he first came to the guild, Gildarts had found out about how Natsu had just been sleeping in the trees at night. So forcefully dragging him along he bought the materials and taught the pink haired boy how to build his own home.

The reason he went towards the house rather than his usual training spot was so that he could have some privacy. After all he still wasn't completely sure **Soul Link** would work considering the situation and if he couldn't talk with Igneel like he wanted to, Natsu was going to be a little upset and he didn't want to risk taking it out on anyone.

So with a sigh he trudged into his home and sat down on his couch. With a little flair of his magic, Natsu's mind focused on Igneel's appearance. The stronger a visual he had of the person he wanted to connect with, the easier a time he would have with the spell.

Taking a deep breath he mumbled '**Soul Link**', and was pleased to hear a deep grumbling sound in his head after a moment.

'_Igneel!'_

'_**I'm here brat.'**_

'_I was half afraid it wouldn't work. But I'm glad it did. I might not be able to see you right now, but damn am I glad to hear you again.'_

Natsu told the dragon, knowing that the Fire Dragon King wouldn't laugh at him for revealing his feelings like he did.

'_**I know Natsu. I know…. It was hard to just up and vanish like that. Not just for me, but the other dragons that were raising their own brats were also struggling to do it.'**_

'_You guys have your reasons though. It'd be bad if one of us became another Acnologia after all...'_

Natsu responded to the dragon. Despite the fact it was a silent conversation because of how the spell worked, he could hear the pain in Igneel's words. Natsu never had any doubts about how much Igneel cared about him, so he calmly defended his adoptive fathers actions.

'_**I'd ask how you grew so wise, but since I've been sealed up in here, I've had nothing better to do than watch over you. I know everything you've been through. You've really made me proud.'**_

Igneel told his pink haired son. It was partially because he felt bad about the fact he never got the chance to tell Natsu how proud he was before, and partially because he noticed the unspoken question of what he himself had been doing while sealed inside the young Dragon Slayer.

'… _Does that include when I met my mom and everything she and I talked about?'_

'_**Yes… It's a shame this Soul Link spell is the only one that will work to communicate with myself and the other dragons, and that it can only allow the Dragon Slayers themselves to talk to us. I'd enjoy thanking your mother for your existence...'**_

Igneel answered, the tone being more than enough to make Natsu pause and question why Igneel had phrased it that way. But he wasn't sure he'd get an actual answer, nor was he sure he'd like the one he'd get if the dragon did decided to tell him about it.

'_**By the way, like you mother, I approve of your mate.'**_

Igneel commented, in an attempt to return to cheerier topics. Natsu flushed at his adoptive fathers words. Though he was really happy to know that Igneel liked Cana.

'_Words cannot even begin to describe how much I care about her.'_

He stated after a moment, glad to be able to talk with Igneel despite his embarrassment. After all he did want to ask a few questions, questions that he needed answers to.

'_**I know my son. That happens when you're in love… But I can tell. You want to ask how being a Dragon Slayer affects your relationship. I'll answer your questions, so ask away.'**_

**Meanwhile**

Cana groaned as she woke up. Feeling her hair hanging over her face she twitched her nose as she let out a puff of air from her mouth to blow it away. Then she slowly cracked open her eyes and groaned again.

"You're handling it much better than I expected."

A voice spoke up to her left. Frowning the brunette was confused for a moment, before her memories of the party came back to her. Her frown didn't leave her face, but that was because she had fallen asleep partially laying on top of Natsu because he was warm and she enjoyed cuddling with him. But her pink haired boyfriend wasn't there.

The person who spoke up handed her a glass of water as she finally sat up.

"Natsu said he'd be back, at least that's what Gray told me."

Cana heard as she gulped down the water before turning to face her father. She had several questions and while they were mostly connected the one she wanted answered the most was answered before she even opened her mouth.

"You and Natsu crashed a bit before I did, so yes I did see you cuddling. I don't mind. He's a good kid. Just promise me that you won't let the two of you end up like your mom and I did."

"How did you-?"

"I might be new to this fatherhood thing, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid… I could tell you wanted to know how I feel about the two of you."

He replied with a grin while cutting her off, as she stood up and walked with him to the bar to get some breakfast.

"Okay then… With that out of the way. Is a pounding headache, and the desire to curl up into a ball and do nothing normal after drinking?"

Cana asked as she refilled her cup with more water. Gildarts just chuckled. In Fiore the legal age to drink Alcohol was 14, so during the guilds party the previous night he decided to let his daughter try drinking for the first time.

"Only when you aren't used to drinking or you drink too much."

He finally answered as she started to eat from the plate he placed in front of her.

"How about temporary memory loss? It took me a moment to remember drinking last night."

"Same as the headache and desire to do nothing. Also I should probably apologize, when you liked the taste of the first drink I got you I might have gotten a bit carried away."

"It's fine. I know you were probably just happy to find something we could do together."

The brunette mumbled as she pushed the plate away from her and laid her head down on the cool surface of the bar's counter top. Gildarts was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yeah I was. I was also pretty proud of how much you drank. I mean normally when a person starts drinking for the first time they can't handle much before passing out or getting sick. Or both. Turns out you take after me when it comes to drinking."

"Is that a good thing?"

Cana mumbled almost ready to fall back to sleep.

"Well if you like drinking, then yeah. Once you get used to it and learn to hold your liquor better so you don't slur your words you could probably make some serious money betting on who can drink more. I wouldn't doubt it if you could out drink everyone in the guild."

A smile came to her face at that as she imaged making bets on who could drink more. Cana was liking the idea of making easy money by winning bets like that.

"But when I'm around I'll be keeping an eye out and making sure you don't overdo it like we did last night. Getting blackout drunk isn't anywhere near as fun the next morning and I'm a little surprised you didn't get to that point actually."

Cana just nodded her head, as she closed her eyes. Even though she wanted to go back to sleep, she wasn't sure it was a good idea to do that right after eating breakfast. So she distracted herself by thinking of Natsu.

'_He probably wanted some privacy while talking to Igneel'_ She thought to herself as she remembered her boyfriend mentioning what he had learned in regards to his adoptive father, and how he now had a spell that would at least let them talk.

"Morning you two."

Mira spoke up as she approached the bar, having finally woken up herself.

Cana just raised her hand to wave as Gildarts nodded to the white haired teen.

"What's wrong with Cana?"

"Oh, that's right we never announced it to the guild."

Gildarts commented as he realized only the people who had gone to Tenrou Island knew about their connection. Mira tilted her head at his words, curious as to what that had to do with Cana, and slightly worried. When he noticed the look in Mira's eyes, Gildarts rushed to answer her.

"Because we were celebrating last night, and because she's old enough to drink legally in Fiore now, I decided to let her drink… When she liked it I got a little carried away, so she's a bit hungover right now."

"Oh. But why did you decide to let her drink?"

Mira queried, as she realized he left out the thing they forgot to announce.

"You know how Cana was raised by her mom until she was six right?"

He asked, getting a nod in response.

"Well, her parents split up before her mom knew she was pregnant. But they never tried to tell her father. Cana actually came to Fairy Tail to find him…"

He trailed off with he story when Mira had tears in her eyes. '_The young ones are all pretty smart, so I shouldn't be surprised Mira figured it out with just that much.'_ He told himself mentally.

Before any of them could say or do anything, the doors to the guild hall opened up to reveal Natsu returning from wherever he had gone. Several others had woken up by this point so he received several greetings as he made his way to the bar to finally get some food. When Mira returned with his plate another person joined them at the bar.

"When everyone's awake you're going to announce that Cana is your daughter aren't you?"

Makarov asked with a pleased smile on his face.

"Yeah… I'm also planning on sticking around a little longer than normal. Plus I don't want to be as busy as I used to be. I'd like to be able to spend more time with Cana now that I know she's my daughter."

The group had already figured that would be the case so none of them were surprised to hear the **Crash** mage say it.

"That reminds me..."

The orange haired man said as he turned towards Natsu.

"Kid, I actually like you, and I don't mind that you're dating Cana. But you do anything to hurt her and I will destroy you."

Makarov had already seen it coming, and was inwardly laughing at his strongest guild member. '_He's an overprotective dad already'_ the guild master thought with a grin. Mira wasn't surprised either, having already known with his personality that Gildarts would take to the role as Cana's father with relish. Natsu didn't say anything, instead he just stared Gildarts in the eye. Words weren't needed.

* * *

S.R: I already have the next few chapters worked out in my head. Why am I telling you guys this? Well, that's because I want you to be prepared in case I upload a few chapters at once because of how much I've got planed.


	11. Chapter 11

S.R: Okay for clarifications sake, at the time of the last chapter Natsu was 14. Cana was also 14, but in this version of the story she is a few months older than Natsu. So when this chapter starts Natsu will be 17, and she will be 18. I just wanted to mention that in case there were people that got confused. And now, back to the story.

* * *

A bright and sunny day, with perfect weather. Everything was peaceful. That's the kind of day the city of Hargeon was having as a young blonde woman made her way to the only magic shop in town. She didn't think anything of the day, since it was the kind of day that was standard for her life. But it was a fateful day, at least for her. Yet she had no clue what awaited her later in the day.

Entering the small building she took a moment to let her eyes adjust as the dim lights couldn't hope to match up with the brightness of outside.

"Oh, it's been a long while since I've had a customer, plus I just got some new stock a couple days ago so surely there's something here."

"What kind of items do you carry sir?"

The blonde asked the shop keeper politely.

"Well, at the moment I've got this **Colors Trap** item. With just a wave of your hand you can change the color of your hair, or if you've got the magic for it the color of your clothes."

"I already have something similar."

"Alright, how about this pendant. It's made so that all you have to do is channel a bit of magic into it, and it'll adjust the temperature of the air around you to be more comfortable."

"That's pretty interesting but still not quite what I'm looking for. You wouldn't happen to have any Gate Keys would you?"

She questioned, feeling like her luck was shot, since the odds were low.

"Gate Keys eh? All I have at the moment is this one right here."

The man muttered as he turned around to pull a box from the shelf behind him. When he sat it on the counter and opened it up, the blonde girl wasn't surprised to see that it was only a low ranking silver key.

"It's not very powerful, and it's pretty common, but if you're looking for Gate Keys it's all I've got."

"Yeah, the Canis Minor isn't a very strong key, but it's one I've been looking for actually. I've heard the little doggy is pretty cute. How much is it?"

She responded, having already known that the key was very common.

"It's 20,000 jewels miss."

Even though she had the money for it, the blonde didn't want to pay that much, since it was more than 60% of what she had on her money wise. She was also fairly confident in her looks. So with her best seductive pose, and husky tone she responded.

"Oh come on now, couldn't you give me a discount?"

**A Few minutes later**

"Stupid old man, he only took off a thousand jewels..."

After shouting that, she began to mumbled that her sex appeal couldn't be that low while walking away from the shop. She wasn't paying any attention to where she was going, not until she bumped into another person.

"Oh, I'm sorry I wasn't paying any attention."

"It's fine miss. I'm alright, but are you okay? You bounced off me hard enough to fall."

The man replied with a charming smile and she was instantly captivated as he held his hand out to help her up.

**Meanwhile**

"Calm down Natsu. Master's pretty pissed at you for that stunt on the last mission."

A lovely brunette woman spoke as she placed a hand on her pink haired companions shoulder.

"Calm down?! How can I do that when some asshole is using my name to charm people so he can sell them as slaves. It's disgusting."

The pink haired man responded, though he did slow down and walk beside the woman rather than rush off like he wanted.

"True, it really is horrible. But that's why we're here. To stop him. So calm down and use your head."

"Aye!"

As the woman continued to calm her partner down, a blue furred cat with wings cheered behind them. Natsu went to open his mouth and respond, but before he could get the words out they heard a loud commotion. Since it was the best lead they had Natsu lead their group towards the sound.

When they arrived there was a man completely surrounded by ladies. His smug and charming appearance made Natsu growl. Especially since he instantly recognized the man as the person they were looking for. It was Bora The Prominence.

Not letting up, the pink haired man barged through the crowd until he stood face to face with the man.

"Oh, I didn't expect to have male fans. Here you go young man."

A signed photo was handed to Natsu, but he didn't take it. Instead he growled and the photo burst into flames, burning to ash almost instantly.

"Nice fucking try buddy. But you ain't the Salamander."

"I don't understand why you're so hostile, but I can assure you I'm the real deal."

The crowd around them was confused, several of the women feeling as if there was something they were forgetting. It was an annoying sight to the brunette that was accompanying him. Sighing she pulled a barrel out from… Somewhere, which caused the other women in the crowd to look at her as she sat down on top of the barrel with a sigh as a bottle of beer appeared in her hand.

"As entertaining as it would be to watch this go on… Natsu quit playing around."

She commented with a nod to the pink haired man. With a devilsh smirk, Natsu pointed at the other man.

"You can't be the Salamander and you can't prove it to me. First off you've got the wrong hair color. Secondly, Salamander is a damn proud member of Fairy Tail, he'd never hide his guild mark. And thirdly?"

Natsu vanished from sight for a moment, causing everyone but the brunette to look around in panic. When they finally noticed him again, he was standing beside the 'Salamander' with a fist buried in the mans gut.

"You aren't me."

Natsu finished his speech as Bora's body fell forward limply. All the ladies in the crowd shook their heads at that, suddenly feeling as if they'd come out of a trance. A few of them voiced their confusion, asking what had just happened.

"That man was using **Charm** magic on you all. It's how he'd trick women. He'd charm you all and invite you to some kind of party, but when you arrived he'd use **Sleep** magic to knock you out, so you could be sold into slavery in Bosco."

The brunette explained, using the exact wording they were told by the council when Natsu was given the job to hunt down the man that was using his name as a cover. A lot of the women were pissed off at that, and several of them stormed up to Natsu and the now unconscious Bora only to kick the blue haired man between the legs. Since it was entertaining Natsu let them do it. When the crowd finally dispersed all that was left was a blonde girl who looked to be about their age.

"Thanks for breaking his **Charm** spell."

"Ah it was nothing. I couldn't let this prick use my name while doing all this crap."

"Natsu, I told you before to calm down."

"Sorry Cana. But it makes my blood boil to hear about all the crap he's done."

Natsu responded to the brunette with a small smile.

"He was using your name?"

The blonde asked confusion evident on her face.

"Yeah. I'm 'The Salamander'. Name's Natsu. That's Cana, and this little guy here is Happy."

Natsu told her with a smile while pointing to Cana and Happy respectively.

"Nice to meet you Natsu. I'm Lucy."

The blonde introduced herself with a smile as well. She stuck her hand out to shake Natsu's hand but it was grabbed by Cana first. Chuckling Natsu moved to stand by the brunette, who was still sitting on top of her barrel. He leaned over and kissed her forehead before speaking.

"Now, now place nice Cana. You know you're the only one for me."

Lucy just tilted her head at that.

"You two are together?"

Cana just smirked as she turned to Natsu and grabbed his shirt to pull him close. But she tilted her head up so that she could lock lips with her boyfriend. It was a pretty cute sight, once the blonde realized it was because Cana was the jealous type.

But then Lucy's eyes went wide as she realized.

"Wait you're 'The Salamander' as in one of the strongest members of Fairy Tail?! Oh my god I'm such a huge fan of yours! Well not just yours but the entire guild!"

With that the floodgates opened and the blonde couldn't shut up about everything she'd read about them and how much she looked up to them, and how much she wanted to join the guild. Sharing a look Natsu and Cana sighed.

'_It's your job, so you've at least go to be there to turn him in. Go. I'll handle this.'_

'_You sure?'_

'_Go.'_

They somehow communicated just by looking at each other. Shrugging Natsu shouldered Bora before sneaking off while the blonde continued her story about how big of a fan she was. Happy was torn between following Natsu or staying with Cana, but in the end he chose to stay and only just managed to endure listening to the blonde.

Lucy was still talking even when Natsu returned. The pink haired man was amazed that she could talk endlessly like that. But he was feeling hungry, and he knew Happy was close to snapping so he interrupted her.

"Hey, uh Lucy? If you'll shut up, I don't mind bringing you back to Fairy Tail. It's up to gramps if you can join though."

She was going to thank him repeatedly but then his words actually sunk in completely.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to rant like that."

"It's fine. It gave me more time to drink after all."

Cana responded. Natsu just shook his head, inwardly cursing Gildarts for the fact Cana's favorite hobby was drinking. He couldn't even say 'Like father like son' since Cana was the older mage's daughter instead.

"Anyway, I'm kinda hungry. You mind if we stop for some food first?"

No one argued with him, especially as the moment he finished speaking his stomach grumbled and it was loud enough to make Lucy wonder if he'd eaten anything at all within the last few days. It genuinely sounded like he was starving to her. So they moved to a nearby dinner to eat.

Since she had already done so much talking and was extremely embarrassed by it, while they ate Lucy just asked them questions.

"How did you guys meet?"

"I was already a member of Fairy Tail when Natsu joined. The guild master had asked me to help Natsu get used to things since he was raised in the forest."

Cana answered quickly. She narrowed her eyes at the blonde. But when Lucy held her hands up in surrender she calmed down again.

"Okay, so you've known each other a long time…. How long have you been together?"

"It's been… Wow, a week ago would make four years."

Natsu answered quickly before gulping down his drink.

"Do you mind if I ask how you got together?"

"We've always been close. But shortly after Natsu turned 14, a good friend of ours passed away. Natsu took it really hard, so while trying to comfort him I ended up letting it slip that I had fallen in love with him."

Lucy could tell there was more to it. But from Cana's tone, and the fact that Natsu's smile darkened just a bit, she decided not to ask further.

"I'm sorry."

"You didn't know."

Natsu and Cana responded in unison. Since they didn't hold it against her Lucy gave them a small smile. Just from how they reacted together, Lucy knew they were perfect for each other.

"What about Happy there. How did you meet him?"

"They raised me!"

Happy responded, which made Lucy's eyes go wide. Natsu gently rubbed Happy's head with a smile. Cana was smiling at the two of them, even as she gave Lucy a proper explanation.

"Natsu and I like to train in the forest near Magnolia. One day we found a rather large egg. Curious about what it could be we started looking after it. That egg hatched and Happy is what came out."

Just from learning a little bit about the group in front of her Lucy unintentionally blurted out.

"Does everyone in Fairy Tail have such amazingly weird stories like you two?"

"Probably."

Once again the two answered in unison, with Happy cheering 'Aye!' immediately after they spoke.

**A Short While Later**

Leading Lucy down the street towards the guild hall Natsu and Cana both had smiles on their faces happy to be home. Happy would have had a smile on his face as well, but he was busy munching on a fish. When they actually got to the doors Lucy was surprised at how they entered.

Rather than just open the door like normal people would, Natsu just raised a leg and kicked the door in. The door flew off it's hinges and smashed into another guild member as Natsu announced their return.

"We're back!"

"Oh, welcome back you guys!"

A few people commented as they weaved through the hall, leading Lucy to the counter. When she saw who was working at the bar her eyes started to sparkle.

"Wow, it's Mirajane in the flesh! I can't believe I'm meeting you!"

"Hello there. Oh and welcome back Natsu, Cana."

"What about me!?"

Giggling The white haired woman welcomed Happy back as well. Meanwhile the guild was as rowdy as normal. When Lucy finally took notice of it she asked why everyone seemed to be fighting.

"That's just how we are. But don't let it fool you. We're a family."

"A dysfunctional one. But I wouldn't change that for the world, since it's part of the guilds charm."

Cana echoed Mira's explanation.

But then Lucy's eyes went wide as a chair flew towards the back of Natsu's head. She pointed at it and went to shout to warn him, a little worried about the fact that Mira and Cana were smiling rather than warning Natsu about it. Before the words could leave her mouth the chair hit the back of his head. Yet Natsu's body rippled for a moment before fading away.

"Dammit! I thought I had you that time."

She heard someone say when Natsu started chuckling from behind her. Lucy was confused, even more when Natsu just walked up to the one that said it before flicking the dark haired man in the middle of his forehead.

"You're more likely to get a surprise hit on him in a one on one fight than in the middle of the guild like this."

Natsu commented with a snort.

"What just happened?"

"Well, Natsu might be known as 'The Salamander' because he specializes in a very powerful and rare **Fire** magic, but he also knows **Illusion** magic. From the moment we entered the guild he made a copy of himself with his **Illusion** magic, knowing he'd be targeted like that."

Cana told her with a smile. Mira joined in after a moment.

"You'd think Gray would learn Natsu's not to be underestimated."

"He knows. He just doesn't want to believe how far he has to go before he can really be Natsu's rival like he claims to be."

Before their talk could go further, Lucy was startled as a gigantic leg appeared out of nowhere and stomped into the middle of the guild as a slightly angry shout was heard.

"You brats have done it again!"

"Oh hey gramps!"

Natsu commented in reply to the voice. A fist smashed Natsu into the floor, but when it pulled back he didn't even have a scratch on him. At that point Lucy finally found the source of the voice and large limbs. Standing on the railing of the second Floor was a small man who seemed to be using magic that increase the size of his body parts.

"Don't you 'oh hey gramps!' me Natsu! You're one of the biggest reasons the council's been on my ass lately!"

With that the room quieted down. They all saw the stack of papers in his hands.

"Look at all this paperwork from the council!"

Several people flinched, already having an idea of what was about to happen.

"Gray, firstly nice job taking down that smuggling organization. But you walked around town naked after that, and even stole some clothes!"

"wouldn't it have been worse if I was naked?"

The dark haired man that Natsu had approached earlier mumbled. But he was ignored in favor of another guild member being yelled at.

"Elfman, you assaulted the VIP you were supposed to be guarding!"

"He said real men were about education."

A tall white haired man replied while scratching his cheek.

"Loke, Councilman Leiji's got a retraining order placed on you for excessively flirting with his granddaughter. Hell the talent agency she works for has demanded compensation."

An orange haired man just adjusted his glasses while looking away.

"Cana, you need to cut back on the alcohol. Or at least stop charging it to the council. They sent me the bill this time. 15 barrels? Seriously?"

"Shit, they found out."

Cana grumbled.

"And let's not forget your partner in crime. Natsu, how many times to I have to tell you to hold back! By yourself, you've managed to level the historical clock tower in Tully town, burn down the church in Freesia, damaged parts of Lupinus castle, and while you succeeded in taking down the Devon Thief Family you also destroyed several townhouses in the process!"

Natsu just shrugged, not really caring about the fact he had caused so much damage. Lucy was worried he was going to be in some serious trouble since the short old man that was yelling at the guild was trembling. But even though he was shaking in anger, it didn't seem like it was going to be directed at solely Natsu after all.

"You guys are constantly getting the higher ups pissed off at me!"

Several people flinched, but the older man sighed.

"However… I say to hell with them and their rules."

With that he light the papers in his hand on fire and threw it to Natsu. Lucy watched with wide eyes as he ate the fire.

"Even if it's a power that surpasses reason, it still had to come from reason. We all known magic is not some kind of miraculous power. It is a talent, one that only works when the flow of energy from inside our bodies and the flow of energy from the outside world are in perfect sync. To perform magic one must have a strong mind and the ability to focus. It should take over your being and pour out of your soul! If all we worry about is following the rules, then our magic can never, and will never progress. Don't let those morons on the council scare you. Always do what you think is right! After all that's what makes Fairy Tail number one!"

When the man finished speaking he held a hand up. The back of his hand faced the crowded guild so that the extended finger and thumb resembled the number 1. The guild copied his symbol with smiles on their faces. A few people even cheered. As she watched the interactions Lucy couldn't help but think '_I was right to want to join Fairy Tail! They're truly the most wonderful guild!'_

**A Few Hours Later**

Lucy was successful in joining Fairy Tail, gleefully showing off the pink guild mark that had been stamped onto the back of her hand to anyone that would listen. It was a pretty funny sight. She was in the middle of showing it to Cana and Happy when the guilds doors opened up and a small boy ran in.

"Is my dad back yet?"

"Romeo, you're starting to get on my nerves asking that every day. You're dad is a Fairy Tail wizard, have some faith in him."

The guild master responded.

"But he was supposed to be back a few days ago. It was only supposed to be three days, but he's been gone a week!"

Natsu could see the way the conversation was about to unfold so he stood up and called out to the kid.

"He'll be fine Romeo. I promise."

With that Natsu made his way towards the door. Happy floated off after him and Cana sighed as she got up from the bar.

"Natsu, you know this is only going to hurt his pride."

The guild master called out, already knowing what his S-class wizard was going to do.

"Pride can be regained."

Natsu responded with a lesson he'd learned from Gildarts once after he convinced the guild's ace to have a training session with him while Cana was out on a solo job shortly after they became S-class. Curious as to what was going on Lucy ran after the pink haired man.

When the blonde got to the door the guild master called out to her.

"Tell Natsu Macao took a job to Mt. Hakobe."

Unsure of what the old man was talking about she just nodded her head, figuring Natsu or Cana could explain as she rushed after them.

* * *

S.R: On the advice of **Imperial-samaB** I am not releasing this chapter with the next one like I suggested I might. Instead I will forcefully wait until Friday for the next chapter. But it is ready to go so I guess I'll start on the next chapter for my Unexpected Family while I wait. So look out for that one too.


	12. Chapter 12

S.R: I told you all I had it prepared. So here you go.

* * *

Lucy rushed after Natsu and Cana. She only managed to catch up with the because they stopped to wait.

"You sure you want to come along?"

"I just want to know what's going on."

Lucy responded when Natsu asked if she was going to follow them.

"Romeo is right to be worried about his dad. I don't mean to say he's weak, since there isn't a single person in Fairy Tail that is weak. But Macao… He doesn't normally take solo jobs, so I'm worried too."

Suddenly the words the guild master called out to her as she left made sense.

"The guild master said Macao took a job on Mt. Hakobe."

She told Natsu with a smile, glad to see that he really did care for his guild mates like the rumors suggested. He smiled as well, glad to have a lead. Of course he was certain he could track his guild mate, but the less time it took to find Macao the better in his mind. Cana just rolled her eyes, before taking the lead.

"Well if we're going there we'll need a carriage."

So she lead them towards the local carriage services. It didn't take much time to find one that would take them to Mt. Hakobe, so they piled into the carriage and the journey began.

"Can I ask why you want to help Macao? Besides being concerned at least. Cause the way you acted back at the guild made it seem like there was more to it."

Lucy asked as she twiddled her thumbs. Even though she wanted to know the answer she wasn't sure if she was close enough to the pink haired man yet for him to feel comfortable telling her. But Natsu's eyes were closed and his head was in Cana's lap, when she looked towards him for to see if he would answer or not. The brunette was carding her fingers through his hair with a gentle smile on her face as she looked down at him. To her surprise Lucy's answer came from Happy.

"Back before Natsu joined Fairy Tail he lived with his adoptive father Igneel. But one day he just up and vanished leaving Natsu all alone."

The blue cat said, before taking a breath. He continued to speak but Lucy blocked it out as she realized that Natsu wanted to help Macao so Romeo wouldn't loose his father like Natsu had. It made her smile again as she realized just how hard Natsu would work for those he considered his family. With nothing better to do they sat in silence once Happy realized Lucy wasn't listening to his answer. But their ride didn't come to a peaceful end.

"Oi, this is as far as we can get!"

They heard the man driving the carriage say as he yanked the door open. Lucy wanted to ask why he sounded so frustrated, but the moment she opened her mouth she noticed the chill.

"What the? Why is it so cold?!"

She practically screamed as they exited the inside of the carriage. Their driver didn't even bother to say anything else, having already climbed back into his seat. The moment Natsu shut the door, the grumpy man pulled away and left them standing in the middle of a snowy landscape.

"Do you know nothing about Mt. Hakobe?"

Cana asked a bit annoyed at just how loudly Lucy was starting to whine.

"I know we're on a mountain but seriously? It's still summer!"

Lucy retorted. But Cana just shook her head.

"Wait why aren't you guys bothered by the cold?"

"My magic. On top of being fire oriented, I'm never able to get cold. Plus if I really wanted to I could go swimming in a volcano and be perfectly fine."

Natsu answered as Happy curled up on his head. When he noticed the weight of his surrogate son sitting on his head Natsu smiled. It always reminded him of when Happy first hatched. If the blue cat wasn't being babied by Cana and the other girls in the guild, he was with Natsu, most of the time sleeping on his head.

"I can't swim in Lava even if I wanted to, and I can still get cold, but thanks to our relationship, I don't get cold easily."

Cana told Lucy with a smirk. Natsu had to hold back a laugh when the blonde took a step back from his girlfriend. '_She's getting very territorial over me. It's kinda cute.'_ Natsu thought to himself, already aware of the fact Lucy knew she stood no chance of taking him away from Cana.

But rather than ask how that worked Lucy smacked her forehead with her palm. Curious as to why she did so, Cana leaned forward to ask.

"Why'd you do that?"

"I could have bought something that would have made me more comfortable. But I didn't think I'd need it."

Natsu knew exactly what she was talking about.

"You went to the magic shop in Hargeon shortly before we met didn't you?"

Lucy could only nodded.

"Oh yeah that's right. There was that request that master made you and Gray work on."

Cana commented as she realized what Natsu was thinking about when he asked if Lucy had gone to the magic shop. Natsu just nodded at her with a smile. Realizing she was left out Lucy rolled her eyes '_These two could turn just about any situation into a moment to flirt. Sheesh.'_ She thought before an idea came to mind.

Swiftly pulling out a ring with a few keys on it, she selected one of the silver ones before pointing it towards the sky.

"**Open Gate of the Clock Constellation: Horologium**!"

A bright light temporarily blinded Natsu and Cana. Happy was fine since he had already started napping despite how carefully perched on Natsu's head he was. When they could see again Lucy was sitting inside of a rather tall clock. To be precise, it was a grandfather clock. Lucy said something when she noticed the two looking at her, but they couldn't hear.

"Huh? You might need to speak up Lucy."

"She says, Horologium will protect me from the cold. So I'm not coming out, she also says."

The clock told Natsu, who finally noticed that it had an actual face just above the clock face. Natsu wanted to say more, but Cana noticed the glint in his eyes that meant he was about to barrage Lucy with questions. So rather than let him do so she dragged him off to begin searching for Macao.

"What kind of job would force Macao to come up hear with the weather like this, she asks."

Horologium spoke up after a moment. Cana and Natsu both just shrugged unsure of the details. But then Natsu noticed a familiar scent off in the distance. At the same time he felt it's approach. But there was something off.

"Cana what kind of creatures live up here?"

Natsu asked as he turned towards his girlfriend.

"If I remember correctly there's not much. Just the snowy variation of the Mountain Vulcan, maybe some Snow Rabbits. Why?"

The moment she asked why, a large white body creature leapt towards her from the snow. But Natsu intercepted it with a kick to the side.

"That's why."

Natsu commented as he nodded towards the monster as it started to pick itself up off the ground.

"Of course. He got taken over by a Vulcan. Don't rough him up too much Natsu, he may already be injured."

Cana commented as she rolled her neck. Lucy was confused an as Horologium came to stand beside the brunette she inquired what the other woman was talking about. So with a sigh she explained that Vulcans posses **Take Over** magic, and use it to posses a humans body in order to survive. By the time she finished talking Natsu had pinned the creature to the ground. Tapping on the back of it's head with his fist, he knocked it out. A moment latter there was a puff of magic before the body was replaced with that of a slim man with dark blue hair.

"Shit you weren't kidding Cana. Bring me a first aid kit please?"

Natsu called over to the two ladies when he saw the condition that Macao's body was in. With a sigh the brunette pulled out a single card. Lucy looked at it strangely, when she noticed it. But Cana just tossed it towards Natsu with a chant of '**Cards ****Space: First Aid Kit**'. As it flew towards the pink haired man the card was glowing bright and expanding until it was the size of a standard first aid kit. The light faded as Natsu caught it without flinching. He set to work bandaging Macao's wounds as Cana and Horologium approached.

They were still a few feet away when the older man started to stir. As his eyes slowly opened and he let out a groan, Macao noticed the person that was wrapping him up.

"Natsu…?"

"Hey, careful there Macao. You've been banged up pretty good."

Natsu stated as he finished bandaging up Macao's arm.

"God I'm pathetic…. I took out nineteen of those stupid brutes. Yet the last one got me by surprise. I can't face my wife like this, let alone Romeo."

Lucy's eyes were wide at the fact the man had taken out 19 of the creatures that seemed to be a match for her strongest Gate Key, at least physically.

"The hell are you talking about? You took out nineteen of them! That's still something to be proud of."

Natsu retorted not wanting to see or hear his friend putting himself down just because he was caught off guard. Cana was already smiling, since she knew Natsu was going to convince Macao that he had already done more than most could. Lucy was listening intently, curious as to how the pink haired man was going to cheer the older mage up.

"If it was you or Cana that number would have been a lot higher though."

"So what? Strength isn't all that matters to being a mage. Besides we've got something more important to worry about. Romeo's waiting for ya."

He replied before gently helping Macao stand up. The dark blue haired man was still a little unsteady on his feet so Natsu threw an arm around his shoulders to help support him, and with a grin declared it was time to head home. Macao had a similar smirk on his face when he realized what Natsu was trying to say while cheering him up.

"You've got that right. After all, now I've got something he can say next time someone tries to bully him about me!"

**In Magnolia**

Natsu, Cana, Lucy, and Happy had dropped Macao off at home with Romeo who thanked them with tears in his eyes, glad that his father was home. But the day wasn't over yet, so they returned to the guild. Natsu because he wanted to talk to the master about something, Cana because she wanted to drink some more, and Lucy because she was just following them.

Sadly things could never go the way they liked. The moment they entered the guild Makarov called out to them.

"Natsu, Cana to my office, I've got a job for you!"

The two he called for exchanged looks and shrugs before heading towards the stairs. Lucy was unsure of what to do, so Natsu stopped at the foot of the steps to the second floor. Normally Happy would follow them, but he'd learned that when the guild master called for just them, or even just one of them it was an S-class job and he wouldn't be allowed to accompany them. So he floated over to the bar to ask Mira for a fish.

"Sounds like you can't join us for this one Lucy."

"Oh that's alright. I've still got to find a place to stay. Plus I'd probably just get in your way..."

Even though he agreed with her statement Natsu didn't say anything to her. Instead he turned towards the rowdy brawl in the middle of the guild hall.

"Hey Gray! Do me a favor and help Lucy here find a place to stay."

"Why should I listen to you flame-brain?!"

Gray's voice called back before the large form of Elfman was tossed onto a table so Gray could walk up to Natsu for a proper conversation.

"Because you don't get a choice. Either you say yes or I make it a demand from an S-class wizard."

Gray narrowed his eyes, but bit out a 'fine!' in response.

"Just… Just keep an eye on her will ya. She's still a rookie here in the guild, and it sounds like Cana and I are about to be busy."

At this point Gray wasn't really wanting to argue, since he was curious as to what kind of person the pair of lovebirds had brought to the guild. So he just shrugged in response.

"Yeah, yeah. Go find out what gramps wanted you for already."

With a nod to both of them, Natsu turned and walked up the stairs to join Cana and the master in his office. From the look on Makarov's face Natsu knew it was something the rest of the guild didn't need to hear and he shut the door behind him. For added measure he used a spell to soundproof the room as well.

"Thank you Natsu."

"Considering the look in your eye gramps, I don't think we need eavesdroppers."

Natsu responded as he sat down besides Cana. The old man sighed as he agreed. But then he turned towards an envelope that was on the side table beside his desk. When he opened it up they were greeted by the sound of Erza's voice.

"Master, I'm writing this letter to tell you that I have successfully completed my mission. But my return will be delayed due to an investigation I've decided to launch after hearing some disturbing news."

They heard. Natsu and Cana both looked at Makarov, curious as to why they needed to hear why Erza wasn't back yet.

"I got that letter a few days ago. This one right here I got about an hour ago."

He spoke before opening another one.

"Master, I'm writing this letter to inform you of the results of my investigation. The dark guild Eisenwald, is close to getting their hands on some forbidden magic. I am currently in the process of tracking down their location, but in the case that I am too late I would like to ask for you to send some help. As far as I've been able to discover they are planning to meet up in Oshibana town either tomorrow or the day after."

Natsu and Cana were quiet after hearing Erza's letter. It was very serious if she was asking for help. After all like the two of them, Erza is an S-class wizard of Fairy Tail.

"The council has also heard about Eisenwald skulking about. They believe that the dark guild is after an extremely powerful artifact known as Lullaby. If that artifact falls into their hands Erza alone will not be enough to defeat them. So I'd like the two of you to join her."

Makarov said as he looked the two of them in the eyes. Throughout the years, thanks to Natsu's influence Cana had become far more aware of her strength, so she wasn't going to back down. Natsu had a feeling that it would lead to a fun fight so he was in as well.

"We'll do it."

They said together, bringing a smile to the guild masters face.

"Thank you. It makes me feel much more at ease to know Erza won't be facing this situation alone."

"Gramps you might want to warn the council about it though. Because if Eisenwald gets their hands on Lullaby I won't be holding back."

Natsu said, an edge to his tone being all the warning his companions needed to know he was serious.

"I don't like it, but I'll defer to you on how you handle this Natsu."

Makarov commented, as he understood why Natsu suddenly seemed more aggressive. As a Dragon Slayer his instincts were meant to be sharp enough to allow him to fight on equal grounds with a dragon. So if he was going to be more attentive, it just meant hearing about Lullaby was enough to make Natsu's instincts demand his full power be brought out.

Since there was nothing else to say Natsu and Cana both stood up to leave. They'd been in and out of the guild a lot just in the last few days, being given jobs that requested them specifically, and helping Macao get home safely, so they had yet to unpack from their last long job. Which meant they could make their way towards Oshibana to meet up with Erza immediately.

As they walked down the stairs and set their eyes on the door to the guild hall Cana called out to her best friend in the guild.

"Mira, watch over Happy for us will you? We're going to go help Erza demolish a troublesome dark guild."

Because it wasn't the first time Cana and Natsu had gone out hunting dark guilds none of them were worried, even though there would be three S-class mages present this time. Instead Mira just waved them off with a cheerful 'Have fun!' Gray and Lucy were sitting at the bar talking about what kind of place Lucy wanted to find, so when she heard the term dark guild the blonde was curious and turned to the barmaid as Natsu and Cana left the guild.

"What do they mean by dark guild?"

Mira held up a finger asking for a moment as she strolled over to one of the larger members in the guild.

"Reedus can I borrow your **Light Pen**?"

"Oui."

Mira just smiled sweetly at him as she accepted the magic item from the man. When she got back to the bar counter where Lucy was sitting she began her lecture.

"First off there are several things you need to know to understand dark guilds. In the wizarding community, at the very top with the most authority is the Magic Council. Below them, with next highest amount of authority is a group of powerful mages, known as the Ten Wizard Saints. They are equal to the guild masters, in therms of authority, but most of the time a guild master will bow down to a Wizard Saint. After all the Wizard Saints are supposed to be the ten strongest magic users in all of Ishgar."

Lucy nodded her head along, completely understanding everything so far.

"That doesn't mean that a Wizard Saint can't be part of a guild. In that case they'd bow down to the guild master… Anyway as I said, there's also the guild masters. Really they just exist so that communication between different regions is easier. Well that and they are supposed to keep their guilds in check. There's an entire league worth of guilds, so it's also rather important for the guild masters to keep in contact with each other and share information."

"I see. It makes a lot of sense with how it all works out. The guild masters basically form a support network, the Wizard Saints are probably used as a police force for the magic world, and the council determines the rules."

Lucy responded, hitting the nail on the head for how things worked out. The white haired barmaid smiled as she mentioned that the blonde was correct with her assessment.

"Back to the idea of dark guilds though…. Most of them are guilds that at one point in time were a legal guild, but the council revoked their status for some reason or another. The majority of the time it's because the guild would accept quests types that the council forbids, like assassination."

"Well basically anything that would be illegal for a regular person to do is a possible offense for the guild to have it's status revoked."

Gray chimed in. Conceding the point Mira went back to her explanation.

"Yup, if a guild starts doing jobs that are considered illegal, and they don't stop when the council warns them they have their status revoked and they become a dark guild. If they don't disband after that and keep working, the council normally sends a team of Rune Knights to handle it. Sometimes they'll hire a legal guild to help handle a dark guild. In fact at the moment a good chunk of the S-class quests we've got on the board are to deal with minor dark guilds so the council can focus on training their new knights."

**Meanwhile**

'_Hopefully master got my letter already.'_ Erza thought to herself as she starred out the window beside her as the train she was on made it's way to Oshibana town. Ever since she sent the letter the red headed knight had a feeling she was going to need the help she had asked for.

* * *

S.R: Well. Back to my notebook to work on the next few chapters. See you all next time!


	13. Chapter 13

S.R: I had fun with this one. Natsu playing around always brings a smile to my face. Anyway here you go.

* * *

"See I told you this would be more fun than riding the train!"

Natsu shouted as he tried to make himself heard over the rushing wind. He and Cana were making use of the special trait his birth magic had. Similar to his mother, Natsu's **Illusion** magic could be focused to a point, giving his illusions a physical form.

Because they needed to meet up with Erza like the guild master had asked, Cana wanted to get to Oshibana town as quickly as possible. But Natsu didn't want to put up with the nausea that he normally felt while on the train. So he had decided to create the illusion of a giant wolf that they could ride.

Which was why Cana had her arms tightly wrapped around Natsu as they traveled at speeds that exceeded even the top speed of a train.

"Never again!"

Cana cried out, swearing that she would never let them travel this way ever again. Natsu just laughed at her reaction. He was enjoying the ride after all. Though he wouldn't admit that the biggest reason he was enjoying it was because Cana was holding onto him. Then out of the corner of his eye, Natsu noticed smoke. With a few taps on the side of the illusionary wolf's head it slowed down enough for him to figure out where the smoke was coming from.

"Wait, is that Erza?"

Cana asked, as she finally noticed the smoke. It was coming from a lone train car that had been left on the tracks. A shock of red hair was visible even from the distance they were at. With Natsu's far keener eye sight he was able to confirm that it was in fact Erza, and that she was in the middle of bandaging someone up.

"Erza what's going on?"

Natsu shouted as they got close enough for her to hear them properly. The red headed knight whirled in their direction ready to attack, but then she relaxed taking a second to realize it was Natsu that had called out to her. But there was still an edge to her voice as she replied, making it seem like Natsu had angered her.

"My train was attacked and hijacked by some Dark Mages. I tried to fight them off, but they were smart enough to disconnect my car from the rest of the train. This man was injured at the same time. My conscious wouldn't let me chase after them without making sure he was alright."

"I'm not blaming you. I'd have done the same thing. I just wanted to know what happened."

"I'm sorry, I didn't understand your reason for questioning me. If it makes you feel better, please hit me."

Erza replied after Natsu held his hands up in surrender as he tried to calm her down.

"He's not going to hit you Erza. In fact he was probably afraid you were going to hit him."

Cana said, making herself known to her fellow female wizard while shaking her head.

"Why? I wouldn't hurt him without good reason."

"Erza you hate being questioned. In fact I could see you trying to take his head off for asking what was going on like he just did."

Instead of saying anything Erza just blushed, embarrassed that she was so strange.

"Anyway, gramps let us in on what's happening… If your train was attacked by Dark Mages, it's possible they figured out you were tailing them."

Natsu commented as he tried to move things along. His instincts were screaming at him to get moving before things could go bad. At this point the man Erza was trying to bandage up recovered from the shock of everything that had happened to him and around him since the train was attacked.

"Miss, I'm alright now. You don't have to worry about me."

Erza went to ask if he was sure about that, but he just smiled and nodded his head before she could say a word.

"Haa, I'm going to regret this, but Natsu we'll need you to give us a lift."

Cana said, realizing that they needed to move and that it would be far faster to travel like she and Natsu had before, despite the fact she didn't want to. Knowing what she was getting at Natsu just grinned. A flowing and shimmering golden light filled the air around him as he focused his **Illusion** magic.

"**Heavenly Wolf**"

He stated as his magic turned bright white and bent it's shape until it was the form of a large wolf. Erza looked at it amazed, as Natsu hopped up onto it's back before helping Cana climb up.

"No matter how many times I see you use **Illusion** magic, I can't help but be amazed."

The red head commented as she jumped up onto the wolf's back, just behind Cana.

"I'm just copying one of my mom's spells. Anyway, I'm all fired up, so let's go!"

Natsu replied before spurring the large wolf on.

**Two Hours Later**

Giving the wolf a signal to slow down Natsu prepared to hop off and talk with the knights guarding the entrance to the city. But when they turned their swords his way, Erza was the one to react first.

"We are Fairy Tail Wizards, what's the situation here?"

One of the knights heaved a sigh of relief while the other dropped his sword while saying 'Maybe they can handle things at the train station.' But Erza being the impatient person she is, jumped down and picked up one of the two guards by his shirt collar.

"What is going on?!"

"A group of Dark Mages lead by Erigor 'The Shinigami', have taken over the train station."

The man told them in a panic, afraid of what Erza was going to do to him. But she just dropped him before gesturing for Natsu and Cana to follow her.

"As useful as he is for traveling, my wolf isn't very powerful, so I'll just dispel him."

Natsu commented as he waved his hand to cancel out the illusionary wolf they had been riding on. With that the three of them rushed through the town towards the train station. As they got closer Cana took the chance to glance at Natsu's face….

"Natsu, I don't think the master can bail you out from the council if you go too far."

She tried to get him to calm just a bit. The last time the brunette had seen Natsu so angry, he nearly destroyed an entire mountain top. He was just as mad as he was then.

"We're close enough you should be able to smell it too."

Natsu commented, just barely managing to keep his tone level and calm. As he finished speaking the dry metallic scent of blood hit her. Erza let out a frustrated growl when she noticed. But Cana, knew that in the red head's case, the growl was because they weren't there to protect the people. It wasn't until they saw the bodies that Cana let it bother her like it had Erza and Natsu. After all, she never really dealt with the real murderous dark guilds. Natsu only hunted them down on solo missions, or when he teamed up with Laxus.

"I wasn't expecting it to be this bad."

She muttered to herself. Natsu had already gone on ahead, but Erza was still close enough to hear her.

"Haven't you dealt with dark guilds before?"

"None that killed. Natsu and I only hunted down the ones that would deal with the black market… Extortion, blackmail, stealing, and fencing things. That's the kind of stuff I'm used to when dealing with dark guilds."

"So this is your first time seeing someone that was killed?"

Erza questioned as she placed a hand on Cana's shoulder, trying to comfort her a bit. The **Card** mage nodded her head as she took in a deep breath. A moment later she let it out, then followed after Natsu.

"I'm alright. I can have a breakdown later, when we don't have to worry about stopping these guys."

Since she sounded determined, Erza didn't say anything and moved to follower her as well. A couple minutes later they caught up with Natsu. The pink haired man was just glaring at a rather sullen and skinny looking man with white hair.

"Oh, it seems more Fairy trash has made an appearance. You're too late! As I have better things to do I'll leave it to my guild to handle you."

The man said with a vicious smile before vanishing from sight.

"Using the wind to hide yourself eh? It won't do you any good!"

Natsu roared out before charging through the large group of dark mages that had been gathered in the room. The were unable to touch him. But because he wasn't focused on them, other than the few that directly blocked his path they were fine.

"Shit, Erigor will kill us for letting him go."

"It's fine. I've got him."

A dark haired man responded before fading into shadow and leaving.

"Well, at least that fool brought us some decent company."

"I wonder if we should torment him with their ravaged corpses before killing that fool."

Some of the men muttered when they noticed Cana and Erza.

"Like hell, I'll let any of you bastards touch me."

Cana shouted as she threw a handful of cards into the group. A second later explosions took the place of the cards and several of the men were thrown into the air courtesy of her **Cards Volley**.. Erza activated her magic, causing a bright light to envelop her body, before fading to reveal her in a different set of armor.

"**Re-equip: Heaven's Wheel**! Now then, Blumenblatt!"

A moment later Erza was standing on the other side of the group of dark mages, two downed by her initial attack, and dozens more on the ground with injuries from the large amount of swords that she had summoned.

"Oh shit! That's Fairy Tail's Titania! We're screwed!"

One of the men still standing cried out in fear as he finally recognized Erza. Since Erza was right in the thick of it Cana threw another volley of cards, but this time they didn't explode. Instead they left paper cuts on several of them. But the ones injured by her cards fell as if they had no more energy in their bodies.

"How do you like my **Cards Drain** spell? Pretty effective right?"

"Dance my swords!"

Erza commanded as she ignored Cana's taunting of the Eisenwald guild members. Focusing her magic, Erza made her swords begin circling around her. Raising her hand, the blades carved through the air in a disk like formation, slicing everything that got in their way.

By this point the only men from the Eisenwald guild still standing were cowering in fear. But because they couldn't afford to risk being tricked Erza finished them off while Cana gathered her magic.

"We can't just leave them here, and since they seem to be behaving I feel comfortable doing this. **Cards: Dimension**."

Cana said before tossing dozens of cards into the air as her magic pulled all the downed men into them. It would be a temporary storage until they could be handed over to the Rune Knights, but Erza didn't mind.

"We should go find Natsu."

The red headed knight commented. But Cana shook her head, pointing towards a hallway. Though it was on the other side of the room, and the figure she was pointing at was still a fair ways down the hallway, they knew it was Natsu because the shock of pink hair that they could see. He was moving fairly fast, but not running which confused them, but because he was gesturing to head back towards the entrance they figured he'd catch up and explain what was going on.

It was when another voice called out that caused the two to stop in their tracks.

"How the hell? There were over a hundred of us and it's been less than five minutes?!"

By this point Natsu was close enough for them to see him carrying a body. It looked like the same guy that had told the others that he'd take care of Natsu. But he was in rough shape. Cana just let out a sigh of relief glad Natsu hadn't taken his anger out on the man. After all, the master had a hard time keeping Natsu out of jail the last time he let his anger cause him to lash out, and that had only resulted in a person being in the hospital for a few months.

"So this asshole tried to ambush me, but it wasn't an issue. After I floored him, I noticed I couldn't smell Erigor anymore. Since they realized they were being tailed, this was set up as a distraction so he could get away and follow through on their plans."

Natsu commented, but it didn't explain why he was carrying the dark mage or why he wasn't unconscious yet.

"What is their plan exactly?"

"Since we obtained the Lullaby artifact, Erigor is going to use it's death spell on the guild masters during their meeting in Clover."

The man slung over Natsu's shoulder commented, a happy tone to his voice.

"You think we can't stop him?"

Cana commented with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course. Your buddy here told you this was a distraction, what part of that don't you get?! See, you're trapped!"

He shouted before cackling when they left the building. A massive tornado of wind had surrounded the train station. It was a very powerful one too, given the fact that they couldn't even get close to try and dispel it.

"I'm going to need a top up after this…."

Natsu muttered as he dropped the dark mage on his face. Rolling his neck Natsu lit his entire body on fire, keeping the heat up as much as he could. This let him get closer than their previous attempts. Once he got as close as he could without raising the heat up enough to harm the others Natsu stopped and pooled his power around him. Closing his eyes he focus as he shaped his fire around him.

"This shit won't be enough to stop me!"

He growled as his fire began to merge into the tornado.

"**Fire Dragon's Infernal Wrath**!"

With that his fire burst forth, smashing into the wall of wind and utterly destroying it. Erza was amazed at how easily Natsu had dismissed the high level wind spell. Cana had a pleased smile, one that came to her face every time she saw how much of a badass her boyfriend was. The mage from Eisenwald just stared at Natsu as if he was the devil incarnate.

"Neither of you can keep up with me when I go as fast as I can, so just catch up with me in Clover alright?"

Natsu called over his shoulder as he pulled the remaining fire in the area towards him. Erza nodded, not realizing that since he was facing away Natsu hadn't seen it. Cana didn't say anything, figuring he'd know she was already going to do that even if he hadn't told her.

As the fire came back to his body Natsu used his mastery over it, and a special spell he could only do thanks to learning **Fire Commandment**. Since he could use pyrokinesis to a much higher degree because of knowing **Fire Commandment**, he was able to create wings made of fire. Flapping his new wings of fire harshly he lifted off the ground. A few beats of his wings later and the pink haired man was already a black dot in the distance.

It didn't take him very long to catch up with Erigor. Strangely the location was rather fitting. Catching up and unleashing a surprise attack that caused the man to collide with the train tracks below him, Natsu noted that they were on the only bridge across the rather large canyon that spanned a good part of the distance between Oshibana and Clover town.

"How the hell did you catch up with me so easily?"

Erigor demanded when he noticed who it was that had attacked him.

"Don't underestimate an S-class wizard from Fairy Tail."

"You pathetic fly, thinking you're so tough just because some legal guild gave you a good ranking… I'll show you what real power is!"

Erigor ranted before swinging his rather large scythe towards Natsu. Sidestepping it Natsu jabbed his right arm forward, punching into Erigor's side with his standard **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist**. It forced the air from the mans chest as spittle flew from his lips. But a moment later Natsu had to step back in order to avoid having the scythe pierce through his head.

"**Storm Shred**!"

Weaving in between the wind projectiles that were launched at him Natsu got in close once more.

"Let's try this again, but with full power. **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist**!"

Once more Natsu punched the **Wind** mage, this time it was enough to cause Erigor to be thrown several yards back from the force. Since he didn't want this to take too long Natsu just sucked in some air before unleashing a **Fire Dragon's Roar**, hoping it would be enough to finish the man off. But Erigor recovered fast enough to cast a defensive spell that Natsu recognized as **Storm Mail**.

"I'll admit you're fairly strong after all. But there is no way you can best me now! You won't even be able to touch me!"

Erigor taunted. But Natsu just snorted in response.

"Hopefully gramps doesn't get too pissed off at me for this. I'm tired of playing around."

Erigor wanted to laugh, completely confident that he was untouchable now with his ultimate defense activated. But he was confused when the pink haired teen pulled his fire back to him, compressing it and causing it to change from the orange color it had to a deep crimson color instead.

"I'll try to hold back but I make no promises."

Natsu commented before a wave of heat washed over Erigor. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before, as sweat poured off of him fast enough to fill several bucks within a couple seconds. But then Erigor's eyes went wide as his **Storm Mail** dissipated thanks to the heat. A moment later pain was all the dark mage felt before blacking out.

"Now then, to make sure he's unable to do anything."

Natsu mumbled to himself as he pulled his leg back. He had axel kicked Erigor from behind and the moment his foot made contact with the back of the man's head, he left it there until he was sure Erigor was defeated.

Tying Erigor up, Natsu searched through the **Wind** mage's pockets pulling out a flute that looked extremely old and withered. He wanted to destroy it, but was unsure of how, so Natsu just put it in his own pocket planning to ask the guild master about it later.

"Well, we should get off the tracks at the very least."

Natsu spoke out loud as he threw Erigor over his shoulder and moved towards Clover, intending to wait for Erza and Cana in a spot that was safer than the middle of the train tracks.

**Hours Later**

Looking up as he heard something approaching Natsu smiled when he saw a magic four wheeler coming towards him. Thanks to how quickly it was moving, and the fact it was covered in magic he couldn't use his sense of smell to figure out who was driving it, but over the years he'd gotten used to the feel of everyone in Fairy Tail's magic. So he knew it was Erza. Which meant she and Cana were finally catching up.

"Are you okay Natsu?"

Erza called to him when the cart got close enough. Natsu just nodded as the vehicle slowed down and came to a complete stop.

"You guys took your time."

"We had to hand over all those guys from Eisenwald first. That took some time."

Cana retorted as she hopped out of the magic four wheeler and walked up to her boyfriend. Knowing what she wanted he slipped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest in a hug.

"It's only been a few hours… Geez you're needy."

He teased her. Cana gave him a mock pout in response. Mostly because she was feeling playful, though she wouldn't and couldn't deny that she had missed him even for the short time they'd been apart.

"Alright lovebirds, break it up… Did Erigor have Lullaby on him?"

Erza commented wanting to wrap things up quickly. Natsu nodded as he pulled the flute out of his pocket without letting go of Cana. Since it was the best she was going to get, Erza just sighed.

"Let's go turn Erigor in. Then we can go ask master how to handle Lullaby."

* * *

S.R: Next chapter, Lullaby and the council being pricks. See you guys then.


	14. Chapter 14

S.R: I… I've got nothing. Read on, people. Read on.

* * *

"Hey gramps, we've got a question."

Natsu called out as he, Cana, and Erza entered the building that was being used as the guild leaders meeting hall for their monthly meeting. Luckily they were on a break, so he was free to talk, though Quatro Cerberus's guild master Goldmine, and Blue Pegasus's guild master Bob, were with him.

"Maki, why didn't you tell me you had such a cute mage in your guild."

Mater Bob commented as he looked dead at Natsu. It was enough to give the pink haired teen shivers. Erza understood his pain, having a similar reaction when the ace of Blue Pegasus, who was there as an escort for his guild master called out to her. So it fell to Cana to explain why they were in Clover.

"We successfully stomped out Eisenwald. However they had already gotten their hands on the dark artifact, Lullaby. So we came here wondering what you wanted us to do with it."

"Seal it away of course."

Another guild master that was nearby had overheard Cana's statement.

"Normally I'd agree that sealing it away again was the best call. But Fairy Tail is known for being extraordinary. They might have the power to destroy it."

Goldmine remarked an eager grin on his face at the thought of seeing someone strong enough to destroy the dark artifact. At that point Natsu recovered from his fear of master Bob, but only because his instincts were screaming.

"We're going to have to!"

Natsu commented as the flute that Erza was showing to the guild masters began to leak out a dark miasma. Everyone started evacuating the building in a panic when they noticed.

"Erza, Cana protect the guild masters. Natsu, I trust you can handle this?"

"I'm all fired up!"

Natsu responded when Makarov gave the trio of S-class mages their commands for how to deal with the situation.

"**Foolish mortals! You think you can defeat me, a demon of Zeref's own making?! I shall make you suffer for your arrogance!"**

a booming voice resounded through the area as the building they had been in fell apart as a massive figure grew threw the roof. It's wood like body was covered in holes, matching it's motif as a flute while inactive. But Natsu didn't care about that, or the destruction it caused just by taking it's true form. Charging forward he smashed his fist into it's leg with a cry of "**Fire Dragon's Iron Fist**". The force behind his attack caused his arm to puncture straight through the demon's leg as a loud crack sounded out from his attack.

"**You dare strike at me?!"**

Lullaby angrily shouted out, swiping its large hands towards Natsu, intending to crush the human flat out on the ground. But the pink haired teen anticipated it.

"**Fire Dragon's Roar**!"

He yelled before unleashing a massive torrent of flames from his mouth. The fire was hot enough to turn the limbs reaching for Natsu to ash, causing Lullaby to groan in pain. But then it's magic kicked in and the limbs began to regenerate themselves.

"Regeneration eh? I just need to destroy you faster than you can restore yourself."

Natsu commented with a smirk as he jumped to be eye level with the large body that was the demonic form of Lullaby.

Punching forward towards the falling figure of Natsu's body, Lullaby was shocked to see the boy flip himself over to land on his hand before running up his arm. Leaving patches of burnt wood as Natsu purposefully made flames come out of his feet as he ran..

"**Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!**"

With that Natsu launched himself from the demons shoulder straight into the side of its head, head first no less. Yet everyone who was watching while being protected from the stray debris by Erza, and the heat of Natsu's flames by Cana were flabbergasted to see the man drive the demon to the ground with that attack.

Hitting the ground with it's head was enough to stun the large demon, which was exactly what Natsu wanted. So taking advantage of the time he now had to attack he jumped up into the air once more.

"With the flames of my left hand, and the flames of my right hand… Bring them together. **Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame**!"

Making a massive ball of fire above his head, Natsu threw it down at the body of Lullaby with a smirk. The demon screamed in agony as it was burnt to ash, at a much hotter temperature than any of Natsu's previous attacks. Sighing Natsu turned away from the fight as he thought it was over. But Lullaby wasn't finished just yet.

"**I refuse to be beaten by a single human being all by his lonesome! If I can't defeat you without powering up then I'll just use the souls of all the mages nearby!"**

The demon shouted before trying to activate it's magic. Those that weren't sure of what was going on started to panic thinking they were going to die. But nothing happened. It was Goldmine that pointed out why they were still okay.

"Natsu's flames have done enough damage to make it so Lullaby's magic won't work. But they don't seem to be capable of beating it's regeneration."

"You've got permission to use them if you have to Natsu."

Makarov called out to Natsu, knowing the pink haired **Fire** mage would understand. Several of the onlookers were confused and a little scared when Natsu's smile went from ear to ear after hearing the guild master's words.

"If that's the case then I might as well end this with a bang!"

Suddenly it was much, much hotter. The heat being enough to make most of the guild masters watching, fall to the ground as they felt as if their energy was sapped by the heat. Erza had to **Re-equip** into her **Sea Empress** armor, and use it's abilities to create water just so that they wouldn't be dehydrated.

Natsu ignored them all as he let his power flow into the air around him before smashing his palms into the ground.

"**Fire Dragon King's Secret Art: Wrathful Eruption!**"

The moment the word wrath left his lips a pillar of crimson fire burst out of the ground underneath Lullaby. It swallowed the demon whole, fast enough that it couldn't even cry out in pain.

Makarov watched on with a proud smile as he thought about just how far Natsu had come since he first met the boy. '_He's finally controlling his power properly, only using what he needs for the spell instead of overloading it. Not to mention the brat has finally reached the level of being able to use his ultimate spells without any drawbacks._'

Erza was too busy making sure nobody was hurt by the after effects of Natsu's magic to even feel amazed by the power the pink haired teen was displaying. But Cana watched with excitement in her eyes. Because of how dangerous his crimson flames are, Makarov had forbidden Natsu from using them outside of as a last resort, so she rarely got to see him going all out.

The brunette couldn't help but lick her lips as she watched Natsu prove why he was one of the strongest mages in Fairy Tail. '_Natsu's always good looking… But he's really sexy when he's going all out.'_ She thought to herself with a blush. But realizing that her thoughts might be showing on her face Cana slapped herself out of her daydreaming. '_Just a couple more months Cana. A few more months then he'll be 18 and you can do anything you want._' She reminded herself, just in time for Natsu to finally end his attack.

When his fire faded out, Natsu was pleased to see that not even ash remained of Lullaby. A cocky smirk on his face Natsu turned to face the guild masters ready to be praised for being a bad ass. But he was met with an eardrum shattering shout.

"YOU WENT OVERBOARD!"

Several guild masters screamed at the pink haired man as he turned and finally noticed the rather deep crater he had made when destroying Lullaby.

"That's our cue to leave."

Makarov commented before rushing past Natsu, with Erza and Cana being dragged along is his grip. Natsu followed his guild master laughing all the way as the mob of guild masters chased after them.

"Maki's guild has some lively young ones."

Master Bob commented in amusement, at the situation. Master Goldmine just rolled his eyes as he replied.

"Children take after their parents after all. It only makes sense for them to be rambunctious, especially when it's Fairy Tail that you're talking about."

**A Few Days Later**

"Man that was fun!"

Natsu cheered as they crested a hill, finally allowing the quartet to see Magnolia.

"I'm going to have the council on my ass about this because of you brat."

Makarov commented as he reached to slap Natsu upside the head. Erza and Cana both rolled their eyes, having heard the guild master complain about that fact several times during their trek back to Fairy Tail. Granted it took longer than normal because Natsu refused to ride a train, and Cana refused to let him create an illusion for them to ride. Erza firmly agreed with the brunette, and Makarov didn't care because the longer he was away from the guild the longer he could go without doing paperwork.

"So what do you brats plan to do now? Give all the excitement I'd suggest taking a break."

Makarov questioned the other three as they got close enough to see the town gates.

"I'm going to order some food, then I have to head over to the blacksmith to pick up an order."

Erza stated.

"I don't know about Natsu but I'd like to hang around home for a bit."

Cana answered with a grin as she thought about getting some more booze.

"That's fine with me. It's been a while so I want to check in with mom anyway..."

Natsu responded to Cana and to Makarov's question. After that the group went quiet again, just enjoying the weather since it was a pleasant day. Not to much longer after that they returned to the guild. The first person to notice their reappearance of course being Happy, who dashed for Natsu and Cana as if his life depended on it. But Natsu tuned out the blue cat as he headed for a corner where he could concentrate.

"Cana, the situation is bad! The guild is out of fish!"

The blue cat wailed to his surrogate mother. Having expected the first thing out of Happy's mouth to be a comment about fish, Cana was prepared. While they walked through the marketplace that was between the guild and the Northeastern gate into town, she had bought a freshly caught Salmon for the cat.

"You're the best! I love you!"

The cat cheered before tucking into the fish with gusto.

Meanwhile Natsu was already in his head. Imagining his mother's smiling face Natsu channeled just a bit of his magic into his head directly with a whisper of "**Soul Link**." A second later he was able to hear a voice in his head.

'_Natsu is that you?'_

'_Yes mom, it's me.'_

'_Oh good. It's been a while since we last talked, I was starting to worry you'd forgotten me.'_

The blonde fairy like woman that was Natsu's mother responded to his telepathy. He could hear the fake sob in her voice that meant she was playing around. It made him rolls his eyes, even though they were shut so he could concentrate.

'_I've just been busy. Took out a guild of thieves, beat down an impostor that was pretending to be me, rescued a guild mate from Mt. Hakobe, and more recently defeated one of Zeref's demons.'_

Natsu informed her, still referring to Zeref as Zeref instead of as his father, but by this point Mavis knew her son's opinion of the man and didn't bother trying to correct him.

'_Which demon was it?!'_

She questioned in a panic. Every one of Zeref's demons were linked to him, so the man knew when they were defeated, and by who. So if Zeref had finally finished preparing everything he needed to make Natsu into a full blooded demon, then he also had a general idea of where to find him. But as Natsu had defeated one of Zeref's demons before Makarov found him, the blonde was thinking that her husband was using his demons to test Natsu's current power level. If her son was able to defeat one of the more capable demons, it may spur Zeref into taking action, and they weren't ready for that.

'_It was Lullaby… That thing was a pushover actually. Hell the only reason I needed to use my __**Fire Dragon King**__ spell to finish it was because my regular fire wasn't fast enough to finish him off before he could regenerate.'_

Unknown to Natsu, Mavis let out a sigh of relief. She knew Zeref would never lie to her, as it was the one action he hated more than anything especially when they were together. So she knew that Lullaby was still one of the weaker demons, so there wasn't as much of a chance of Zeref doing anything in response to Natsu killing one of his demons.

'_Still. You know you're father is connected to his demons. He knows when they die and who killed them. If you have to fight another of his demons, let someone else deal the finishing blow.'_

'_Mom, we've made several plans for if he tries to make a move on me. It's fine.'_

Natsu tried to calm her down, knowing she was just overreacting like a mother should. But he was right in saying that they had come up with several different plans for if Zeref tried to claim Natsu again. He had also made a few plans with Igneel, but Natsu wanted to keep those a secret, mostly because he knew how much she would freak out over them.

Natsu was going to make another comment when he felt his shoulder being shaken.

'_Looks like someone else needs my attention… I'll talk to you later mom.'_

'_Alright Natsu. Love you.'_

'_Love you too.'_

Withdrawing from his telepathic conversation Natsu canceled the spell that was linking him and his mother together to communicate mentally.

"What's going on?"

He asked Cana who was looking at him with concern. But it wasn't her voice that answered him. A messenger frog from the council was noticeable just over her shoulder.

"As a result of apprehending the dark guild Eisenwald, and defeating a demon from the book of Zeref, the council hereby places Natsu Dragneel under arrest, being charged for," Here the amphibian paused to look at it's notes before looking back up and continuing "Eleven counts of property damage. Natsu Dragneel is also being charged with another fourteen counts of proper damage in regards to his mission to eradicate the Devon Thieves Family."

The entire guild was silent at that. They knew the council didn't like them because they were fairly reckless, but to go so far as to arrest one of their strongest members for it… That was a bit much for most of them. However before they could rally and argue against it Natsu stood up and held his hands out in front of him.

"Alright. Cuff me and lead the way."

"Natsu!?"

Cana and Happy both screamed in his ear at the fact he was agreeing so easily. Most of the guild was confused as well, but Makarov shook his head. '_You know better than anyone else what you're about to get into Natsu.' _The guild master thought to himself as he recalled the few times he'd had Natsu act as his escort for meetings with the council.

"It's fine guys. I'll be back before you know it."

Natsu told them all, specifically making eye contact with Cana. The brunette sighed as she realized he was telling the truth. Stepping away she moved to the bar, reached over the counter, and grabbed the most expensive booze the guild had in stock.

"Don't take too long."

She said with a frown, slightly pouting. Whenever the duo took some time off from running on jobs they'd explore the town on a date, and it was something she enjoyed and was looking forward to doing this time, since Natsu said he'd treat her to the most expensive restaurant in Magnolia.

Happy, was convinced since Cana was convinced and went back to eating his fish. With those two dealt with Natsu turned to look at Makarov, who just nodded his head.

**Magic Council Meeting Chamber**

Several voices where going back and forth, hyping each other up in the argument about what to do. Wanton destruction aside, they had several matters to discuss and deal with. But the majority of them were content to complain about Fairy Tail, and spend forever on the easiest topic of their discussion.

"Those idiots at Fairy Tail are far too destructive!"

"We know that! Just look at what Dragneel was able to do by HIMSELF in Clover!"

"Dragneel may be the most destructive, but don't leave out the others! The entire guild is responsible for over 15 billion jewels worth of damage in the past year!"

But one council member had heard enough and just wanted things to move along.

"True, true, but look at all the good they've done. Several dark guilds have been defeated by Fairy Tail, including Eisenwald who we were wary of."

"I'll give you that Yajima, but it doesn't really matter, since that's only a temporary victory. The number of dark guilds is on the rise, and Eisenwald only proved how much of a threat they all are by getting their hands on Lullaby."

Another voice called out.

"How did they even get their hands on Lullaby anyway?"

But this question went unanswered as the Council Chairman slammed his staff on the ground to call for order. After clearing his throat he spoke.

"It matters not that Eisenwald was able to obtain Lullaby. All that matters is we tighten security on all forbidden artifacts, so that they cannot fall into the wrong hands."

At that point a blue haired man spoke up with a smirk on his face.

"We've already done exactly that Chairman Org. Though I question why you let the others bicker about Fairy Tail. Sure they're a royal pain in our side, but they've proven once again that their guild is a valuable tool. Besides, if you'd all like to recall we've already determined our method for, shall we say, chastising them?"

"Siegrain is correct on that matter. Unless they've put up a fight, which could be used as a reason to force them to disband, we should be seeing Fairy Tail's number one trouble maker shortly."

A sultry sounding voice came from the woman just to the blue hair man's right side. Several members sighed in response since she was correct. Because they wished to discuss a few different matters with Natsu Dragneel, rather than hold a trail with their **Thought Projections** like normal, it was decided the pink haired teen would be brought to Era and they would meet face to face.

Another member of the council went to speak up, but the sound of the doors opening cut them off as Natsu was brought into the center of the room and forced to look up at the council.

"Ah, Natsu Dragneel. We've been expecting you."

One member of the council started off the talk.

"Cut the crap since you're the ones that brought me here."

"Temper, temper. You really should watch your tongue when in front of the council Natsu."

The sultry voiced woman on the council spoke with a grin.

"Why? You don't scare me. You have no real authority over me. I'm only here because we all know the public will hear about how you 'punished' Fairy Tail for our destructive tendencies, despite the fact you can't really do anything to us because we're too useful for you to afford to anger us."

Natsu retorted with a bored look. His eyes dared them to refute his statement.

"While your statement is mostly correct, I do have to question why you say we shouldn't anger Fairy Tail?"

Siegrain commented in an arrogant tone. Several other members leaned forward in their seats at that, trying to help prove that they were the ones that should be messed with.

"The simple answer is that no one hold any authority over me. I respect gramps, which is why I listen to him, though not all the time. As for you guys, I could care less about what you think, let alone what you say."

"Oh? What about the King of Fiore? Shouldn't he also have authority over you?"

One of them questioned eagerly. Because Natsu would have to say yes, so then they could argue that the king gave them authority over all mages, meaning he would have to acknowledge them.

"Nope. I'm a Dragon Slayer. That means the only one I owe any form of allegiance to, is the Dragon King."

"Enough."

Org banged the butt of his staff against the floor to bring everyone back to order.

"That is not the topic you are here for us to discuss Natsu Dragneel."

"I figured."

Snorting Natsu replied. Most of the council were aggravated by that, but the Chairman wasn't finished so they were unable to say anything.

"We have been investigating strange rumors lately. The results of these rumors have lead us to decide on this course of action. Someone has moved the imprisoned body of the demon Deliora to the island of Galuna. Your 'punishment' as you so rightly labeled it is that we order you to take care of the situation."

"By myself?"

Natsu questioned, with a raised eyebrow.

"If you wish to do so yes. It is not required that you handle it yourself however. Instead we merely require that as one of Fairy Tail's S-class you take responsibility for your guilds actions by handling this matter."

* * *

S.R: See? The council (for the most part) is a group of pricks. Personally the only council members I've liked were Yajima and Belno. Maybe Ultear, but only because she redeems herself. Yeah Jellal does too, but I just don't like him… But I digress. This is supposed to be my outro, not my rant. Anyway, I'll see you all next time.


	15. Chapter 15

S.R: Okay, so I got distracted with Halloween decorations. I've spent every day for the past week outside setting up my decorations and helping neighbors with theirs (My wife and I are the youngest people living on our street by roughly 15 years, so we tend to help the neighbors out a lot). Anyway, now for the fun of Galuna island. So uh, here you guys go.

* * *

Quite some time had passed since Natsu was 'arrested'. By this point most of the guild was antsy again about the whole thing.

"That fire brained idiot must have really been in hot water."

Even Gray was getting in on the discussion about Natsu. Cana had already finished off several bottles of booze, which told everyone all they needed to know about what she thought of the situation. Happy was doing his best to distract her however.

"I know this might sound a bit dumb to ask but… Does the magic council not take a wizards power level into consideration?"

Lucy asked, still being quite new to the guild and unknowing on most things. Considering Natsu was amazingly strong, she was curious as to why the council couldn't understand that there'd be damage even if he held back. Gray just shook his head in response, and several others frowned.

"Several members of the council only care about how they appear to the public, and try to use the guilds as pawns to make themselves look good. Fairy Tail is just too much of a wild card for them to approve, so we get unfair treatment sometimes."

Makarov commented as he set his mug of beer down on the counter beside him. He really didn't want to leave her in the dark on things, since as part of Fairy Tail she'd eventually have to know.

"But that makes it sound like the magic council is corrupt!"

The blonde responded, shocked that such a respectable organization could be so corrupt. Gray facepalmed at her naivety. Erza frowned, unsure how to correct her guild mates statement as it was something that wasn't necessarily wrong.

"Unfortunately the council is slightly corrupt. Not enough to require action being taken against them however, especially since they are for the most part, still competent at their job. Considering the alternative though, I'd say it's acceptable."

A voice commented from the doorway. Most of the guild did a double take when they saw Natsu, but Cana and Happy were moving towards him the moment they heard his voice. Happy plopped down on Natsu's head, taking up his normal spot, while Cana wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Having a feeling he already knew the answer just by the look on Natsu's face the guild master called over to him.

"So what's the verdict?"

"The council's going to tell the public, that as compensation for all of the destruction I've caused, I have to do community service in the form of accepting an S-class level job from them, but there is no reward to be offered for completing it."

A few groans were all he got in response to the news. Cana looked upset, her pout this time being very apparent to everyone that could see her face. She was really looking forward to their date, but the council wasn't known for patience so he'd have to leave to complete the job soon.

"The good news is that I don't have to do it alone. If I want I can bring a team along."

Natsu whispered into Cana's ear, having noticed her grip tightened just a bit.

"Since you said it's an S-class level job, let's move this talk up to my office."

Makarov ordered as he hopped down from the bar counter. Even though Natsu had told her he could bring a team along, Cana didn't follow him up the stairs. The brunette knew he'd fill her in when they left.

As Natsu walked past the S-class job board that was on the second floor there was a request that caught his eye. Plucking it from the board he continued into the guild masters office.

"Does that request have anything to do with the council's job?"

"Possibly. Even if it doesn't tie in, I might be able to get two birds with one stone as the saying goes."

With that said Natsu sighed before explaining his talk with the council to the guild master. By the end of it Makarov had his eyes closed and was leaning on his hands as his elbows rested on the desk in front of him.

"Please tell me you're joking."

But Natsu didn't say anything. So the guild master let out a deep sigh. '_God help me when Mavis finds out._' Makarov thought to himself before shoving his fear to the back of his mind so he could ask Natsu about his plan.

"Since you can take a team, who are you going to have tag along?"

Makarov said, his tone telling Natsu that he wasn't going to be happy if he said he'd do it solo. Not that the pink haired man had any intentions of going by himself.

"Well at first I was thinking just Cana, Gray and I, but if I'm going to take this job as well then Happy and Levy can tag along. I mean she's really smart, so I'm sure she can figured out what needs to be done."

He replied as he flashed the guild master the request. The paper was a mission requested directly by a settlement on the island. The village chief was asking for someone to come and remove a curse that was placed on his people. They were offering 7 million jewel, and an old tome that was written in some foreign language.

"Yes, Levy should be able to handle that, unless dispelling the curse requires a fight, but with you and Cana there things should be fine. Why take Gray with you though?"

The guild master commented after reading the S-class mission Natsu had grabbed. Natsu sighed before answering.

"So he can get some closure. I don't know if Gray's told you, but back when he was living in Isvan with his mentor the demon Deliora was causing havoc. Since it was the demon that killed his family Gray tried to fight it but couldn't, and was protected by his teacher who used a spell called **Ice Shell **and sacrificed herself."

Understanding that Natsu was just trying to help Gray, the guild master nodded. He was positive they'd be able to handle the S-class mission Natsu had pulled off the board. Yet Makarov was really concerned about the council's job. Not so much about Natsu not being able to handle it, so much as it is what would happen if Natsu had to fight the demon. After all if someone went to all the trouble of moving Deliora, and the ice it was encased in, then they had to have a reason. But the only reason he could think of for someone besides the council to do it would be to free the demonic beast from it's prison.

"Haa, I wish Gildarts or Laxus were still here so I could send them along."

Makarov commented, since Cana, Gray and Levy all lacked the power needed to deliever a killing blow to a demon from one of Zeref's books.

"Gramps, there is a reason Gildarts and I don't team up and work together."

This threw the guild master for a loop. As long as he'd known the man, Natsu had looked up to Gildarts. Not to mention the few things he knew about Natsu's relationship with Cana. With that knowledge the only way to describe Natsu and Gildarts relationship would be to say they are 'future in-laws'.

"If Gildarts and I teamed up it'd be overkill."

This caused the short old man to face-plant into his desk with a groan.

"Why did I expect an actual reason?"

He muttered to himself, getting a laugh from Natsu.

"Oh that reminds me. On my way out old man Yajima gave me a warning for you."

"I see."

Makarov commented, thinking it was just another scolding about not keeping the guild in line since it was a hassle being the only one on the council actively fighting to keep Fairy Tail from being disbanded.

"He says to watch out for Phantom Lord. Apparently they've been doing some shady deals lately. But with Jose being a Wizard Saint the council is choosing to look the other way."

While he was surprised to hear the council was ignoring the matter, Makarov wasn't shocked in the slightest to hear about Jose doing some shady details. Especially since the man and his guild seemed to have a deep seeded hatred of Fairy Tail. Yajima was likely concerned that Jose was preparing to do something against them. As much as he wanted to ignore it, Makarov couldn't be certain Jose wasn't foolish enough to attack Fairy Tail despite war between the guilds being expressly forbidden.

"I'll keep that in mind."

The guild master finally responded. Since they didn't have anything else to talk about, and Natsu hadn't actually gotten the chance to unpack yet the pink haired man left the office. He stopped to let out a sigh before leaning over the railing.

"Cana, Happy, Levy. We've got a job to do. Gray I want you to tag along on this one. I'll explain the job on the way."

The brunette just raised her mug of booze towards him before downing it all. Standing up she stretched a bit before saying "I guess I'm ready to go." Happy had flown up to land on Natsu's head before cheering "Aye Sir!" Gray was shocked to be included, but he knew to trust Natsu's judgment. So if the pink haired man thought it was a good idea for him to come along he wouldn't argue. Levy, for once didn't have her nose buried in a book so she was able to respond to his call out right away.

"You sure it's okay for Gray and I to tag along on this one?"

"Of course! We are a team after all."

Natsu and Cana both responded to the blue haired girl. This brought a smile to her face, happy to have friends that were confident in her abilities… Well, more like friends that weren't following her like lost puppies all the time. Though Natsu did continue to mention Gray again.

"As for Gray, well I'll explain that while telling you guys about our job."

"Sorry Jet. Sorry Droy. Looks like team Shadow Gear is on hold for a bit."

While Levy wrapped things up with her other team Natsu hopped over the railing and walked up to Cana.

"So what's going on?"

"I need to link up with mom and fill her in."

He told her with a small shake of his head. Cana groaned in response.

"That bad huh."

Meanwhile over at the bar Lucy who was chatting with Mira was confused.

"Levy is on a team with Natsu and Cana, but also on a team with Jet and Droy? How does that work?"

The white haired barmaid cheerfully replied.

"While it's true that guilds encourage mages to form teams and work together, there is no concrete rule that you can only be part of one team. For example, Levy. Sometimes she takes solo missions. Sometimes she goes out on a mission with just Cana. Other times she is the team leader of Shadow Gear, working with Jet and Droy. But she also is part of Team Natsu, which is Natsu, Cana, Happy, and Levy."

By this point Levy had finished clearing her plate to head out. So she joined Cana in waiting for Natsu to be ready. Gray was standing with them as well, a smirk on his face since he knew most of Natsu's jobs lead to good fights.

"What's he doing? Natsu's the one that wants to take a job."

The bluette whispered to Cana, fully aware of the fact Natsu had heard her anyway.

"You know how Natsu can use **Illusion** magic? He'd been learning it from someone in secret for a while. But it's been a while since he last gave his teacher a progress report so he's using telepathy to get her caught up."

Cana told her friend, shaking her head about the fact she had to remind the girl about the lie they had come up with to explain when Natsu suddenly started using **Illusion** magic. Though she did frown a bit, still not liking the fact they had to lie to their friends about the truth. A moment later Natsu's eyes opened back up, and he gave them a shaky grin.

"I'm all fired up!"

He tried to tell them, but Cana called his bluff.

"She's pissed isn't she?"

"Oh yeah."

Levy was curious, but chose not to interrupt since Natsu immediately began to fill the two in about what was going on while they walked to the train station. But because he wasn't done talking just yet Cana pulled his head down onto her lap while rubbing his back in order to make it so he wasn't as bothered by his motion sickness as normal.

"If that's the case then why bring me along?! I'm not much of a fighter you know!"

Levy squeaked out in a panic when she heard what Natsu had to do for the council. Rather than respond Natsu held up the job he had taken before his chat with the guild master.

"If it's not connected to my job, I was hoping to use your brain to figure this one out."

Natsu managed to say before he closed his eyes, choosing to sleep rather than risk getting sick while talking. Cana shook her head as Happy munched on a fish that he pulled out of his green bag.

"Levy everything is okay. You know Natsu and I won't let things get out of hand."

Cana tried to calm her friend down, a bit worried that she might be upset that Natsu wanted to bring her along on such a dangerous job. Though neither of them knew that Natsu was going to leave her in the village that made the job request to figure out what their curse is while he and Cana dealt with the demon and the people that had brought it to the island. After all why stay grouped together while they could multitask and get more done. Hopefully at least.

Gray however was silent, staring out the window in thought. '_Natsu knows how much this means to me. I guess I owe him one… But still, the question I have is who is stupid enough to try and free a demon, especially one that's as dangerous as Deliora. There's no way they didn't move that thing and it's prison from Isvan, to the middle of nowhere, without intending to free it.'_

**Hours Later**

The trio of mages and the floating blue cat had been trying with no luck to find a boat that would take them to Galuna island. Gray was unusually quiet, but Natsu and Cana understood why. Levy didn't know, but she didn't try and pry, not wanting to risk upsetting him.

"Since they're making you take this job the least the could have done is supply a boat to get us there."

Cana grumbled as she sat down on her trusty travel barrel while the group took a break from searching for a boat. Rolling his eyes at Cana as she pulled a mug out from her messenger bag and began to fill it up with alcohol from her booze barrel, Natsu commented back.

"They either don't really care, or are too concerned about themselves to have thought that far ahead. Personally my bet is on the later."

Having heard stories from the guild master Cana and Levy both nodded, agreeing that Natsu was correct on the more likely option. Happy wasn't paying any attention to the idle chatter as he was busy munching on a fish he had wondered off to grab.

If it weren't for the fact they were all used to it, the trio of mages would be questioning just how much the blue fuzzball loved fish, given that he was on his seventh one since they left the guild.

"Let's try a couple more boats. If no one agrees then levy can use her **Solid Script** magic to make us a boat."

Cana offered after finishing the mug in her hand. Since it was the best idea they had Natsu and Levy both agreed, though the blue haired woman was still a bit nervous about being brought on such a dangerous job. While it's true Natsu and Cana had dragged her along on S-class requests in the past, those jobs never revolved around fighting. Instead they were searching old ruins and forgotten temples for treasures, meaning her intelligence was the key factor in completing the missions.

Yet before Cana could even stand up off her travel barrel and return it to the card in which it was normally stored, a voice spoke up from off to the side.

"I couldn't help but overhear that you're looking for a boat."

"That's right. Would you be willing to ferry us?"

Natsu replied with a smile, happy to possibly be making progress. He and Cana were already facing towards the person who spoke up, so they instantly noticed the weathered skin that meant the man was a professional sailor.

"The destination?"

The man questioned in return.

"We've got a job from the council to clear up some issues on Galuna island."

Natsu told him, not wanting to explain everything since it was technically classified information. But the tanned man just smiled.

"Excellent. I'm a native from Galuna, and I was starting to be worried no one would step up to help us. I'll gladly take you there, free of charge too."

Since they weren't expecting it the group of Fairy Tail mages went wide eyed at his answer. As the team leader however Natsu quickly recovered and thanked the man profusely for the help in getting to their destination.

"No, thank you for coming to help my people. Since they might be wary of outsiders given all that's happened, it might help if you identify yourselves and then say Bobo sent you."

"You might have to remind us about that when we get there."

Natsu commented as his face went green the moment he stepped onto the ship. The man looked concerned as Cana sighed before finding a comfortable spot to sit down and pulled her pink haired boyfriend over her lap to rest.

"I apologize about him, he gets horrifically motion sick when on boats and trains."

Levy offered to the man who had identified himself as Bobo. Mostly because Cana was more focused on making Natsu more comfortable. As for Happy, well the blue haired cat was still busy eating his fish. Which when Bobo noticed he couldn't help but sweat-drop at.

"I see. Anyway it's a few hours sailing from here to Galuna so make yourselves comfortable."

He commented after a moment, before walking off to get the ship out of the port and out on the open seas. Levy was more focused on figuring out what time it would be when they arrived to Galuna. With her mental map of Fiore helping her figure out the distance they'd be traveling across the water, and determining the speed at which they were moving the blue haired woman figured they'd be arriving shortly after sunset.

Gray was leaning on the railing, still lost in thought, though he did try to pay attention when he heard Levy speak up again.

"I know you probably want to rush this job so we can get back to Magnolia and have that date you missed out on, but it'll be night before we make any headway with the councils job, and I don't think we'd get much done with the quest Natsu grabbed either."

She told Cana after sitting down beside her. Natsu was already asleep, but Cana was content to run her fingers through his hair while she talked with her friend, as Happy finally stopped floating about and sat down beside Natsu's chest, leaning into it to nap.

"What are you suggesting then?"

"Well in order to even do the S-class mission Natsu grabbed for us, we'll have to visit the village on the island. So I think it'd be a wise idea to stay the night there, and handle everything tomorrow."

* * *

S.R: For those that are curious. Since this arc is development for Gray in canon, I decided to stick with that part of the story, even though he isn't part of Team Natsu in this story. Though I did change the reward from a Golden Gate Key to the book because Lucy isn't going. Instead this book is something for Natsu, but you'll find out more when he actually takes a look at the thing later on. Anyway I'll see you guys next time!


	16. Chapter 16

S.R: Okay, Galuna island. It took me a bit for this one, simply because I had a lot of trouble deciding how long to make it. Because on one hand I want to get to a certain point already, but on the other, I really don't want to skimp on things. This arc has the potential for a lot of cool and or cute moments after all. Anyway, here you go.

* * *

"Oi, Natsu wake up!"

Gray commented as he tried to wake the pink haired teen up. He had woken up on the beach a little distance away from the other male. After shaking him for a couple minutes, Natsu finally started to stir. When his eyes cracked open, and he saw Gray confusion was evident on his face.

"Where the hell are we?"

"I don't know. That Bobo guy said the ride would be a bit so we all decided to follow your lead and take a nap. When I woke up we were already on this beach. I'm not sure where the others are, so I figured it'd be better to wake you up before searching for them."

The dark haired man responded with a frown. Shaking his head while yawning Natsu sat up fully, as he took a look around.

"Something doesn't feel right. Let's find the others quickly."

He said after a moment. Just on the edge of his sense of hearing there was something awkward that he couldn't quite make out. His nose was waterlogged so he couldn't even try and figure out where the girls were.

Jumping to his feet Natsu scanned the area around them, glaring intently, as he carefully studied every little detail. He was only just able to make out the shock of blue, that was Levy's hair a bit further down the beach. Leading the way he and Gray quickly found the bluette, on her side out cold.

By this point Natsu's sinuses had unclogged a bit and he could just barely trace the familiar scent of Happy.

"Wake her up, while I grab Happy out of the tree over there."

Natsu commented to Gray as he moved to climb the tree he'd pointed at. Of course when he got to the base of the tree he could hear his surrogate son muttering in his sleep about fish.

"Never change Happy."

He smiled before letting out a small chuckle as he climbed up to pull the blue cat out of the tree. When he reached the ground Natsu placed Happy gently on top of his head, having long since gotten used to Happy sleeping there when he was tired.

"I've still got a bit of water in my nose, so give me a minute to clear it before we start looking for Cana."

Natsu commented to Gray and Levy. They both nodded as Natsu pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket before heavily blowing his nose into it. Luckily for them, while he was blowing his nose Cana wondered around the bend of the beach and spotted them.

"Oh good here you guys are."

She said with a smile as she rejoined them. Since Natsu was still busy clearing his nose, Gray was the one to speak.

"I think we are on Galuna, but I've got no idea what happened to the boat."

Levy nodded her head, having come to the same conclusion almost instantly after noticing they were on an island. Cana didn't have any proof otherwise so she didn't respond. Since the handkerchief Natsu had pulled out of his pocket looked disgusting after he used it, the pink haired man just burned it with his magic. '_I'll replace it when we get back' _ He thought to himself before turning towards the dense jungle like forest that was just off the beach.

"Now that my nose is clear again, I can smell other people in that direction. Let's go."

Taking charge of things, Natsu began to walk in the direction he had pointed. Shrugging Gray followed after him. Cana and Levy exchanged looks before dashing off after the two. Because she was somewhat nervous Levy took up the middle, trusting Natsu's senses to protect them from anything that came from the front or the sides, and Gray to be able to handle anything that tried to sneak up behind them.

Cana had taken up her spot right next to Natsu, quietly taking his hand in hers. To an outsider it may have looked like she had done that because she was scared, but to those that knew them, it was simply because Cana loved the skin on skin contact with Natsu, and was always trying to hold him or be held by him in some way shape or form.

It didn't take long for them to find a dirt path. Natsu could only just make out the end that opened up onto the beach, so he began to head the opposite direction, figuring that it would lead to the village that they were told about being on the island. After a short walk the group was able to see a tall wooden fence that seemed to encircle a small little village. When the got close enough a couple men that were acting as guards called out.

"Halt!"

Since they were likely the village that had posted the S-class job Natsu had grabbed, the group did as asked, not wanting to risk upsetting the people. After a moment only one of the two guards spoke up.

"Who are you outsiders?"

"We are mages from Fairy Tail. There was a job posted in our guild that brought us here."

Natsu calmly responded.

"Show us your guild marks as proof."

The guard called back. Natsu just turned to show his right shoulder. Cana pointed at the guild mark that was on her stomach, completely uncovered by her top. Gray pulled his shirt up to show his mark, though the guards were curious as to why he took the entire shirt off after making sure they could see it. Since she was wearing a spaghetti strap shirt Levy, turned and pointed to her left shoulder blade. Though she did have to pull her top down just a little so they could see the full mark and not just part of it.

After having confirmed their guild marks the guards opened the gate, and a rather short old man walked towards them.

"Welcome Fairy Tail wizards, I am Moka, the chief of this village."

"Hi. I'm Natsu Dragneel, this is Cana Albernona, Gray Fullbuster, and Levy McGarden."

Natsu introduced them. But Levy stepped forward.

"Excuse me sir, I know you are probably very excited that someone has finally responded to your request, but it's rather late. Would you mind if we stayed the night and began working tomorrow?"

"I do not mind at all. As it's a rather cloudy evening, I can't even show you exactly what the curse does to me and my people. Nor can I point out what I believe to be the cause."

Natsu frowned, unsure of what exactly was going on. Especially as his senses enabled him to tell that every person in the village was using magic, though as he glanced around the pink haired man noticed it seemed to be a subconscious use of magic. But he followed the village chief as he led them to a small building that was close to another of the village gates.

"This building is our storage room. It may be rather small, but at the moment it is the only one available to allow you to stay in."

"That's alright sir" Natsu commented as he opened the door to the small hut. Cana followed him in without much care. Levy bowed politely to the village chief and Gray gave a nod of thanks, before closing the door behind him.

Natsu took a moment to place Happy on top of a small bundle of cloth that seemed like it was a spare blanket, before turning back to the others.

Cana was already sitting down next to Happy, but her attention was on him. Levy was looking out the window with a contemplative look on her face, and Gray was leaning on the door while looking right at Natsu.

"So what's the plan."

A small grin came to Natsu's face.

"So I wasn't the only one to notice huh."

"Notice what?"

Gray and Cana both asked, making Natsu shake his head.

"It seemed like they were completely unaware of the fact they were using magic."

"They were?"

Gray questioned, unsure since he didn't see any visible proof.

"Natsu your ability to sense magic is far greater than ours, so of course we wouldn't notice it like you did."

Cana cut in, her voice sounding worn out. Realizing that he was pretty tired too, Natsu just sighed.

"We'll talk about it more tomorrow. For now let's all just get some sleep."

Sitting down, Natsu positioned himself comfortably, only to have Cana scoot in right next to him. Just by the look in her eye he knew what she wanted, so the pink haired teen laid his arm out, letting her rest on top of it before bringing his hand up to wrap around her side and hold her close. The brunette nestled her head on his chest right above his heart and smiled.

"Night guys. Night Natsu."

She spoke out loud before lower her voice to a whisper before closing her eyes. Levy and Gray both watched with a hint of jealousy over how close the two were, but they shrugged it off to make themselves comfortable as well.

"Night."

Gray yawned to them before nodding off himself. Levy offered a more proper 'Good Night' before turning in. Natsu didn't say anything, as he had already closed his eyes the moment Cana put her head on his chest.

**The Next Day**

Waking up to sunlight streaming through the window, Natsu groaned as he tried to roll over. But then he found that he couldn't. Cracking his eyes open once more, he noticed Cana snuggled against him. The movement however was enough to cue Gray and Levy that he was awake.

"Finish waking up already so we can go already."

Gray commented, his voice full of a nervous eagerness. Since he knew that Gray would want to handle things regarding Deliora as quickly as they could, Natsu didn't begrudge him. Instead he turned to his girlfriend and with his free hand poked her side.

"Wake up Cana."

Instead she snuggled in closer. Rolling his eyes Natsu got in close, his hot breath on her ear causing Cana to shiver.

"If you don't wake up, I'll have to resort to drastic measures."

A Cheshire grin came across her face as one eye cracked open.

"What kind of drastic measures."

Now sporting a similar grin Natsu moved so that he was face to face with her. But before he could make his move the two suddenly had ice all over them courtesy of Gray.

"You love birds can do that later. We've got things to do today."

Groaning and grumbling the two got up and prepared for the day. When the group of mages finally left the storage building with Happy still asleep on Natsu's head they made their way towards Moka. Exchanging simple greetings, Natsu decided to share the real reason they had taken on his request.

"Is their a place we can talk in private real quick?"

"Why yes, but might I ask if something is the matter?"

He replied a little concerned about them deciding to back out on helping.

"We fully intend to help break the curse on you and your people, sir. But, well let's just say it's not the only reason we are here."

Understanding that there was something important that he needed to hear the village chief led them to his home. Once they were certain no one could overhear, Natsu told the man about the information the council had uncovered and the fact that he had been sent to handle that situation. He even explained how he had seen the request on the job board and figured it might be a chance to kill two birds with one stone.

"I see… I wish we could be of help, but we don't know of anything going on outside of our village."

"Do you know of anywhere on the island that these people could be hiding?"

Natsu asked, already sure of the fact the village had nothing to do with Deliora. Instead he was hoping to use their knowledge to narrow down locations to search.

"There… There is a temple located closer to the other side of the island. But we've never even been able to get close. For some reason all of our attempts have some how lead us right back into the town after a few minutes."

At this point Gray was ready to go.

"Well now we know where to start. Let's go."

But he was the only one to move.

"Patience Gray. If this curse has anything to do with Deliora then I want to know all I can about it before we start moving."

So after a bit of prodding they finally got Moka to reveal what the curse did to him and his people.

"I would show you, but for some reason we only turn into demons at night, and only under the light of the moon. Cloudy and Overcast nights do not affect us however… The problem is the few that stay out in the moonlight for long enough are driven insane."

Levy was curious about the curse, but since she doubted they had any proper documentation on what happened to them, she decided the best thing to research would be the temple that Moka had mentioned they were unable to approach.

"Do you have any records about the temple you mentioned earlier?"

"I'm not sure. Though our library is quite small, I've never poured through each and every document."

With sparkling eyes the bluette volunteered to go through the library's archives.

"That was my plan from the beginning Levy. I know you aren't supper confident in your fighting ability after all. You stay here and find out what you can. If you find anything use that **Call Cana** card Cana gave you when we made our team official. The rest of us will go check out the temple."

Natsu ordered, before the group split up to do their respective tasks.

**Hours Later**

Wiping a bit of sweat off his brow, Gray commented "Whew, that was a bit of a walk." The dark haired man was already missing his shirt though. Cana was also slightly winded by the trek, but Natsu was completely fine. However he did hold up a hand to signal them to be quiet. Happy who had woken up during the walk was floating along behind Natsu with a fish, quietly munching away.

"We aren't alone." The pink haired teen spoke before quickly throwing a small ball of fire towards the shadows a short distance in front of them.

"Oh, he was able to find us so easily. That's interesting."

A voice echoed as a quartet of people stepped out of the shadow to dodge the fireball. Gray began to shake as he reacted first.

"Lyon!?"

Since he already knew about Gray's backstory Natsu didn't question him about how he knew the guy in front of them. Instead his eyes narrowed as he thought about how to handle the situation.

"Are the four of you responsible for Deliora and it's icy prison being brought to this island?"

"Why should we answer to you?"

The person Gray identified as Lyon spoke again. The tone was very condescending and it pissed Natsu off. To show that it would be a bad idea to be rude to him, Natsu blurred from his spot. Seconds later The other two males that were in the group that had stepped out of the shadow were in a heap on the ground unconscious.

"I'm not someone you want to look down on. But your answer told me all I need to know. Cana, Gray you can handle these two. I'm going to obliterate this damn temple."

Without even looking back he vanished from sight again. From the tone of his voice Cana had realized that Natsu felt something off about the temple. Lyon and the female were confused, but unconcerned as they stared down Gray and Cana.

"Well, I guess Zalty will have to step in and fix things for us when we're done here."

Lyon commented before he and Gray dashed towards each other with their magic already flowing. His female companion just looked at Cana for a moment before exclaiming that she couldn't lose.

"I won't let you win. The power of love will triumph!"

Cana didn't say anything. She had already prepared herself for a fight. A quick flick of her wrist sent a trio of cards towards the pink hair and blue eyed woman in front of her.

"**Summoned Lightning**!"

A streak of green colored lighting charged towards the woman, who rolled out of the way. But Cana had expected that and a few cards cut through the air already on a collision course with the pink haired woman. The force behind them, allowed the cards to create thin slices on the girls arms as she tried to defend herself.

But even then Cana wasn't done. The cards were just a distraction to allow her to get in close. Magic already flowing into the next card, Cana pressed it against the girls head with a command of "**Card Dimension**!"

The moment the bright flash caused by the spell faded, the brunette was pleased to see her opponent sealed inside of the card.

"Well now that that's over with..." She mumbled to herself before using another of her cards to summon forth her traveling barrel full of alcohol. Sitting down on top of the barrel with a sigh she began to relax as she pulled her ever trusty mug out from her carrier bag.

"Natsu's got the temple covered, and Gray should have the other guy no problem."

After downing her first mug full the brunette shook her head at the wailing coming from the card her opponent was trapped in.

"You aren't the only one that loves someone, so shut up about it already."

**Meanwhile With Levy**

Levy had been pouring over books and scrolls from the moment she sat down in the villages small library. But the most recent scroll she'd begun to read seemed promising as it mentioned some ancient ruins. Upon reading what the ruins were for however her eyes went wide.

"Of course!"

She yelled out, startling the village chief who had been keeping her company and helping her research. Since it was important news she reached into her side pocket and pulled out the **Call Cana** card she had, channeling a bit of magic into it.

"Yes Levy?"

Cana's voice came from the card after a moment.

"I know what's going on!"

Levy eagerly responded, though Cana noticed a hint of nervousness to her voice as well.

"Alright then, tell me what you know."

"There is an old temple on this island. It was once used for rituals to cast an extremely powerful and rare type of **Dispelling** magic. Well one spell in particular. It's a spell called **Moon Drip**. By focusing the latent magic power from the moon through a series of funnels and specially made types of glass down onto one spot, you are able to use the **Moon Drip** to dispel any kind of magic. Curses, barriers, transformations. Anything."

"Well it's a good thing Natsu already decided to wreck the temple then."

Cana replied causing Levy to let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah. Though according to what I've read, the more magic being dispelled the longer it takes, so **Moon Drip** could take months, or even years to fully dispel a strong enough spell. Since the magic council didn't say how long they've known about it, destroying the temple to prevent the spell from working is probably for the best."

The bluette commented.

"Oh, hold that thought, looks like I've got to bail Gray out of trouble."

Cana stated before the connection was cut off. Levy sighed in disappointment that she couldn't share the rest of her find with her friend, but since it tied in with the village chief's request to cure their curse she turned to him.

"There's a side effect of the **Moon Drip** though. I'm mentioning it to you, because the side effect ties in with your curse."

**With Natsu**

"God dammit Ultear! Stop fixing my destruction!"

The pink haired man roared in frustration. Shortly after entering the temple he had unleashed his **Fire Dragon's Eruption** spell, to destabilize the area enough to wonder around breaking everything. But before he could even cock his fist back to punch something the damage was fixed and a short old man started to taunt him for his temper.

But nothing could get past Natsu's nose when it wasn't being clogged up by seawater, so he knew it was the councilwoman named Ultear in disguise. Which lead to a wild goose chase through the temple as she repaired everything he tried to break. Eventually the two finally stopped running around inside the bottom most chamber, which was also the room that housed Deliora and it's icy prison.

With a mocking grin on her face as she removed her disguise, Ultear turned to face Natsu.

"Now, now, why would I do that?"

"Maybe because you're one of the people that hired me for this fucking job!?"

But then Natsu's head whipped towards the encased demon. His eyes were wide as he realized the distant sound he'd heard the previous night after waking up on the beach was coming from within the ice.

"That thing's still breathing?!"

* * *

S.R: I think that's a good place to end it. Don't worry about the Gray vs. Lyon fight though. I didn't put it in here because I have a feeling I'm going to make it a long one. As for everything else? You'll just have to wait and see. Anyway, I'll see you guys next time.


	17. Chapter 17

S.R: Okay, here you go. Have at it.

* * *

"**Ice Make: Eagles**!"

Ducking under the flying constructs of ice, Gray lunged forward his magic pooling around his hands.

"**Ice Make: Sword**!"

Swinging the blade of ice at his opponent Gray wasn't surprised in the slightest when the other man jumped back, easily dodging his attack.

"You've gotten a bit faster Gray. But it won't do you any good."

Lyon commented before getting into his stance once more. The air around him began to cool rapidly as he used his magic to create a tiger. The snowy creature rushed towards Gray intent on biting into him. But the dark haired man fought it off with his sword, quickly shattering the tiger with a well placed blow to the back of the head. Yet his sword was also damaged by the attack, falling into pieces as well.

"**Ice Make: ****Lance**!"

Gray shouted as he sent large spears of ice towards Lyon. But the other **Ice Make** mage just smirked. A shield came to life in front of him, the icy barrier easily countering Gray's attack. Another flock of eagles was sent towards Gray in retaliation.

"**Ice Make: Freeze Lancer**" the dark haired man chanted as his magic surged forward in icy tendrils that speared through the eagles that Lyon had sent his way. Yet Lyon had already launched a second attack. This one danced through Gray's icicles with dodging them with a practiced ease. The sleek panther smashed into his side, though Gray didn't feel any pain. He was surprised to see it emerge from his other side a moment later. As it did the flash of pain he felt, was enough to make him dizzy.

"**Ice Make: Bow**!"

Gray chanted forming a very sleek looking bow of ice in his hands. Taking a steadying breath, he closed one eye and took aim. Several flashes of light flew through the air towards Lyon as his arrows reflected the sunlight that just barely streamed through the trees that surrounded them. Only one of the arrows made contact, but it didn't seem to bother Lyon at all, as he ignored it in favor of casting another one of his spells.

"**Ice Make: Tiger**!"

Again he made an icy construct that had the appearance of a tiger. Dashing across the ground it made it's way towards Gray. But the dark haired man was ready. his magic molding a block of ice into a large hammer. One downward swing later and the tiger was nothing but shards of ice on the ground. Knowing that would be the case, Gray didn't bother to stop, letting the momentum of his swing carry he swung his arms out to his side before spinning. Timing it just right, Gray let go of his hammer with a smirk. Lyon didn't have much time to avoid the attack, so he constructed another shield of ice to block it, grinning happily when it didn't even leave a scratch on his hastily made barrier, he taunted Gray.

"Is this the best you've got Gray? To think we used to train together. It's pathetic."

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Ur, gave her life to cast **Ice Shell** on that demon!"

But Gray's words made Lyon angry. The pale blue haired man's eyes narrowed after he heard their teachers name.

"You have no right to speak of our teacher! She wouldn't have had to give her life up if you hadn't been so weak! But now, I'll prove that not only am I the better student of hers, I'll prove that I've surpassed Ur! I'll defeat the demon that she couldn't!"

Lyon ranted as his magic power surged around him. Gray went wide eyed when he noticed what his fellow student was doing. Ur had drilled it into them that their magic should never be cast with one hand as it was too unbalanced, meaning their was a chance of the spells being unstable. Yet Lyon was casting his next attack with just one hand.

"I'm done with this Gray. You're finished. **Ice Make: Water Serpent**!"

A rather large snake like being made of ice burst forth from Lyon's magic seal that appeared in front of him to cast the spell. It moved too fast for Gray to dodge completely, catching him in the side and causing him to spin. Yet he didn't cry out in pain.

"I'm not done with you yet! **Ice Make: ****Ice Canon**!"

He commented, still standing despite how ragged he looked. Gray's magic took form rapidly creating a rather large gun. Not even a second after it formed Gray had already taken aim and pulled the trigger, making his weapon unleash a sizable snowball of ice. The canon ball shot towards Lyon at an unbelievable speed.

Yet Lyon wasn't concerned. Gray watched as his enemy flared his magic.

"**Ice Make: Snow Dragon**!"

This time using both hands to cast his spell, Lyon unleashed one of his most powerful attacks. The dragon-like ice construct swallowed the canon ball from Gray's attack and kept moving. Even after slamming into Gray it held strong. Not only that, but the creature reared back and smashed it's head into him. Again and again, Gray was crushed against the floor by the rampaging dragon that was Lyon's attack.

When the attack finally subsided, Gray was panting heavily. He struggled to move, yet he pushed himself to stand again. It was clear he was going to push himself too far.

"I'll give you credit for not being taken down outright by that. But you should give up Gray. You can't win."

Lyon taunted. Growling out in anger Gray responded.

"Shut the hell up! I made a promise to never back down, to never lose again. Not until I could prove that I was worth being his rival!"

But his body betrayed him. No matter how willing he was to fight, Gray was no longer in the condition too. After he finished speaking however a new person joined the battle.

"Don't make promises you can't keep Gray."

Cana said as she stood between him and Lyon. The pale blue haired **Ice Make** mage was rather surprised. Sherry was fairly powerful, yet she had been defeated by the brunette that was protecting Gray.

"You must be strong to take out Sherry. But that doesn't mean you're strong enough to defeat me."

Cana rolled her eyes as she pulled one card out from the holster that held her deck of cards.

"I bet I could beat you with one spell."

She taunted in reply. Though she neglected to mention the only reason she felt comfortable being able to claim that he'd be taken down so easily was because Gray had done a decent job of whittling down the man's magic. Not as much as she would have liked, but it was enough she was confident that one of her trump cards could take him down without an issue.

"I'm not someone so weak as to be defeated by the likes of you… Nothing can defeat my dragon after all. **Ice Make: ****Snow Dragon**!"

Lyon commented. But Cana just laughed at him. Confusion rushed through the **Ice Make** mage at her response. Dragons were mythical beings of unimaginable power. Sure they didn't exist, but that didn't mean attacks named for them would be weak. At least according to Lyons thoughts.

"Let's see then. Your so called 'dragon' versus my dragons power."

The brunette replied before throwing her card in front of herself after channeling enough magic into it.

"**Cards Copy: Fire Dragon's Roar**!"

An absolutely massive plume of fire burst into existence from inside her card. Melting Lyon's attack, and charging forward the flames poured forth before surrounding the man. Crying out in agony Lyon fell to the ground defeated. Gray who was only able to watch was stunned. He knew Natsu and Cana were together. He knew Natsu had given her a couple cards that had absorbed his spells. But to think she could use the same level of power as her pink haired boyfriend was absurd.

Turning to help Gray stand, Cana saw what he was thinking just by the look in his eye. Shaking her head as she wrapped one of his arms over her shoulders she spoke out loud.

"That was nothing compared to the original. I haven't refined that one enough to match Natsu just yet."

'_That level of power still isn't equal to Natsu!?_' Gray thought with a shudder. Of course Cana knew he'd react that way. It was fun to tease him after all. Which was why she didn't bother trying to correct her fellow Fairy Tail wizard.

'_I still need to work on the control. __Not even a full quarter of the magic I just used in that spell went towards the power… But at least I'm getting better with it.'_

Cana thought to herself as she recalled when her father told her that to 'master' that spell would be to practice until she only used three times what Natsu needed to. Only then, when her magic was being channeled equally into casting the spell, controlling the spell, and providing the power, would it be equal to Natsu's standard roar.

"Natsu should be fine on his own, and Levy found some things out. Let's head back to the village and get you bandaged up."

She said with a small smile on her face as Happy floated along after them. He had tried to follow Natsu when he ran into the temple, but he couldn't keep up so he floated back to Cana just in time to see her helping Gray up.

"Aye sir! I wonder if they have any good fish to eat."

The blue cat cheered as he followed his surrogate mother.

**Meanwhile with Natsu**

"Yes. Deliora is still alive. Which is why I won't stop fixing what you destroy. We asked you to handle this situation. As in destroy this demon. You can't very well do that if it doesn't get free."

Ultear said as she fully discarded her disguise. Natsu was at a loss for words. Yes he knew there was a chance that Deliora was alive, but given what he'd heard about the situation from Gray, he had seriously doubted that it was still alive.

According to Gray, the spell that had sealed Deliora, **Ice Shell** was made to slowly destroy whatever it was encasing. Add on the fact it had been close to 12 years since the spell had been cast and the demon should have just been an empty husk. One that would turn to dust the moment **Ice Shell** was melted. Yet the proof was undeniable. Deliora was still breathing.

"I can buy that as your reason for not letting me prevent it from being freed. But what excuse do you have for aiding these people? You are part of the council, yet you are helping them to free Deliora. The moment you found out about this, the council should have known and thought to prevent this at all costs."

Natsu asked as he closed his eyes and rubbed at his forehead with one hand.

"Naturally we wanted to. But when we learned about this, the progress was mostly complete. So it was decided that we'd get someone to destroy it instead. As for why I am here, well the method chosen to dispel **Ice Shell** is very slow. It was roughly 78% of the way done when the council learned about it. Considering how feared Deliora is, we realized it had to be dealt with now rather than later. Because there is no doubt that other groups may attempt this as well. And they would have a much easier time. I was sent to help, and secretly speed the process up, so that you could deal with it."

"You know how feared Deliora is. There is no doubt the council doesn't have records of the destruction it's caused. Yet you all still believe that an S-class wizard can stand up to it?"

Natsu was completely bewildered by the fact. From how Ultear explained it, the council basically decided 'Deliora is practically free already. But it should be weakened. So let's send an S-class over there to finish it off before it can become a problem.' Which made it seem like they were insane.

"We've had our eyes on you for a while Natsu. We know all about your little **Dragon Force** technique which puts you on the same level as Makarov. It's why you were the one chosen for this job."

Natsu snorted at her response. He hadn't expected the council to know about it, but he couldn't help himself. Their info was only partially correct. Yes he had **Dragon Force**. Yes it made him stronger. But in the years since becoming S-class, he'd pushed beyond his limits multiple times. By now, with **Dragon Force** he wasn't on Makarov's level, he was beyond it. In fact it put him closer to Gildarts who was secretly on the same level as the monsters that were known as the Ishgar Four. Or the top 4 Wizard Saints. Of course he, Gildarts, his mother Mavis, and Makarov himself were the only ones to know this.

"Fine. But if I'm going to do this, then you need to get the hell outta here, cause I won't be holding back."

'_That and I'm not revealing all of my trump cards to the council. I don't trust most of you assholes.'_ Natsu thought to himself as the woman nodded in response.

"Even as we speak the **Ice Shell** is weakening. In fact if my calculations are correct, and they are, Deliora will be free in two hours."

Ultear said as she started to walk out of the room. Sighing Natsu dug into his pocket. There were very few things he kept on his person when on a mission, but there was on thing in particular he always carried. Just like Levy, Natsu also had a **Call Cana** card.

**In the Village**

Gray was being treated by Levy. She had wanted to explain her findings to the two, but the moment she noticed Gray's condition she began to bandage him up. Cana had moved to help, but the moment she picked up the bandage wrap she felt a ringing sensation in her ear. Because she was used to it, the brunette knew it was magic that was tied to her in the form of a call card. As the ringing sensation faded, an image of her pink haired boyfriend came to mind.

"Yes Natsu?"

She questioned. Gray was confused about why she seemed to be talking to herself, since he didn't know about the call cards or how they worked. So while she was fussing over him Levy filled him in.

"When we made Team Natsu, Cana gave both of us a magic card. These cards enable us to call her no matter where we are. If we were to be right next to Cana and talking Natsu would be able to hear us, but we wouldn't be able to hear him since the card establishes a mental connection with the person it's tied to, which as I said before is Cana."

Gray didn't really understand Levy's explanation of how it worked exactly. All he really got was that they could use these cards to contact Cana whenever they needed to.

"It's for emergencies, and luckily they work both ways. So long as she is thinking about which of us she wants to connect with, that person's card will light up and buzz to let us know."

She continued, slightly happy to have someone else to talk with since her friend was preoccupied listening to Natsu.

"Wait, how many people have one of these cards?"

Gray asked, since he knew the more people had one the harder it would be to make sure she was talking to the right person when she activated them.

"If I remember right, Natsu, the Master, Gildarts, Cana, and myself."

Levy responded after a moment. While Gray was dense, he at least understood why Cana would give the card to Natsu, the guild master, Gildarts, and Levy. After all Natsu was her boyfriend, Gildarts was her father, Levy is a teammate, and gramps is the guild master. They're all pretty important people to stay connected with. But Mira threw him off.

"Why Mira?"

"Cana is one of Mira's 'informants'. It's because of her that Mira knows most of the gossip in the guild."

Levy responded with a sigh. Cana was her best friend, but it did get annoying to have all of her secrets spilled to Mira when they started gossiping. At that point both Levy and Gray turned to Cana after a rather loud outburst.

"YOU'LL BE DOING WHAT?!"

There was a moment of nothing, before Cana turned to Happy with narrowed eyes.

"Drag his ass back here, so we can get back to the guild and tell the master to go destroy the magic council for this shit."

She was royally pissed at what Natsu had just told her. When Happy didn't immediately do as she asked Cana started letting her magic leak out from her, and it was scaring Levy and Gray enough to make it so they didn't want to ask what Natsu had said.

"What do you mean Happy can't get close enough to do what I just said?!"

"Dammit Natsu, if you screw up I'll beat you senseless for doing something this stupid!"

She growled out in a frustrated tone. Normally Happy would be hiding behind Natsu when Cana got angry, but since the pink haired man wasn't here, he was shaking like a leaf in the wind too panicked to even think about finding another hiding spot.

At that point she let out a heavy sigh, which was a signal that Natsu had ended the call. After a moment she ran a hand down her face in an attempt to calm down a bit. Then she focused the magic that was leaking out of her.

"Master. I need you to tear the council a new one."

Considering she had contacted the guild master, Levy figured she and Gray would be learning what was going on with Natsu, especially since it had riled her up.

"Because of how late they were in finding out about Deliora, those dumb-asses decided rather than prevent Deliora being freed it would be easier to let it free and have Natsu beat it down."

After a moment she spoke again.

"No, one of them was here on the damn island helping speed up the process so that Natsu could fight the damn thing! Since it's been sealed so long they think it's weak enough that he should be able to win."

Gray's eyes were wide. He was having flash backs to the terror he felt when he tried to fight Deliora all those years ago. Levy was also shocked. She'd heard about Deliora, and from everything she knew, it was far stronger that Lullaby, which Natsu had defeated. '_I know he's strong and all but...'_ The bluette thought to herself.

"We can't. He said after speaking with the council member that was here they decided to put up a barrier around the temple so the destruction would be contained. Apparently they feel he can win because of his **Dragon Force**."

Cana responded to whatever the guild master had said.

"It's not that I don't think he can win…. I can't exactly say why I'm so against this since Gray and Levy are in the room with me."

This confused the other two Fairy Tail mages. There was a secret about Natsu that they weren't allowed to know. The S-class were very tight lipped about things back when Natsu and Cana got promoted, especially in Natsu's case. So they knew something was up, but to have it confirmed for sure that there was something they weren't allowed to know was a bit upsetting to the two.

"I know master. I just… I can't help but worry about things."

At this point Cana almost seemed to be in tears. After a long pause, she finished her talk with the guild master.

"Alright. I will… Thanks master."

**Back With Natsu**

"I've got time to kill so…."

Natsu said before flopping down onto the ground. He closed his eyes and focused his magic towards his head for a moment.

"**Soul Link**"

With that Whisper Natsu made a connection to Igneel. Since his mother wasn't happy, and her mood would be even worse after hearing what was going to happen, he decided to hold off on telling her about what the council had done to basically force him into fighting Deliora. At least Igneel already knew and would try to be helpful.

'_**This is going to be rough brat.'**_

He heard his adoptive father say.

'_I wasn't joking about not holding back,. I had to use your flames to finish Lullaby and this guy is supposed to be a lot tougher. __**Fire Dragon King**__ mode right from the start should make this easier at least.'_

'**_You sound like you're plotting something… What do you have in mind brat?_**_'_

Igneel asked, as he caught on to the tone Natsu used. As if he wasn't concerned about the end of the fight. He knew Natsu was smart, but to come up with a plan to fight the beast known as Deliora so quickly was a bit concerning.

'_Remember when you told me about creating a mate mark? You took over my body to show me exactly how to channel my magic to do it. Think you can do that again?'_

If Natsu had been able to see his adoptive father, he'd have laughed at the wide eyed look of comprehension coming across the dragon's face at the idea.

'**_It's possible Zeref's connection to his demons __could realize it was me and not you. __Which may make him hesitate with his plans.__ But it's also possible he'll think I took control to keep you from being killed __in that situation._'**

Igneel responded, though he wasn't surprised when Natsu said either way it would be a good idea. After all they didn't want Zeref to know Natsu's full power just yet.

'_I know it's a risky gamble. We don't even know for sure if his connection could ferret it out. But if it works we should get a lot more breathing room.'_

Igneel didn't respond right away, instead taking the time to think about the idea. They really didn't know enough about exactly how well connected Zeref was to his demons to be able to tell. Sighing to himself, Igneel could help but call it a gamble just like Natsu had. He wasn't sure why, but the Fire Dragon King had a gut feeling that things would be okay.

So with a sigh, the dragon finally gave his approval of the plan.

'_**Yes, this is a risky gamble, but I think we can take it. We'll have to time it just right though brat. I can't take control for long. Maybe fifteen seconds at most.**_**'**

**Back With Cana**

"You aren't really thinking about letting Natsu face that thing on his own are you Cana?"

Levy asked as she and Gray finally got a straight answer from the brunette about what was happening with Natsu.

"We don't have a choice. The council member that was here on the island has put up a barrier already. I can feel it."

Gray and Levy had to nod, they both felt it as well.

"Yeah, but so what. Natsu wouldn't let a barrier stop him so why should we?"

Gray asked not wanting to be left out of the fight, even though he didn't think they'd be able to win.

"Because it would kill us. Natsu can't go all out if we're close. Remember back when he joined and the master wouldn't let him use his magic at first?"

Cana answered as she looked dead at Gray. She knew Levy wouldn't understand as she wasn't a member of the guild during that time period… Well she had joined before Natsu was allowed to fight, but only the day before so it didn't really mater.

"Yeah, gramps said something about Natsu's magic being really dangerous."

"It is. Natsu has another form of **Fire Dragon Slayer **magic. This other form acts like my dad's crash magic. It destroys weaker magic and grows even stronger. Plus the heat these flames put off is just absurd. I'm willing to be we'll feel it even from here."

Gray looked at her as if the brunette had grown a second head. It just sounded flat out impossible to him. But Levy was shocked at the fact Natsu had such a trump card. After all even when he actually had to fight using his magic on the jobs she went with him and Cana on, Natsu held back and barely used his magic.

"Plus he has a spell called **Dragon Force**. It amplifies his power to extreme degrees. I wasn't kidding when I told master I wasn't worried about Natsu being able to win. It's what comes after that I'm worried about."

Gray's shock at hearing that was enough to cause him to pass out. Levy wasn't quite as shocked as the **Ice Make** mage, but she did frown. Cana had grown really strong as well, enough so that she knew she couldn't catch up to her friend. But to learn what Natsu was capable of, it made her start wondering if she was worthy of being on the same team as the duo.

"Levy, don't you dare think you can't be on Team Natsu."

Cana said as she saw the look in the bluette's eyes. It wasn't anything new. She and Natsu both had told Levy multiple times since they formed Team Natsu that she really was part of the team. Master Makarov always kept an eye out on the guild, and any time he felt things would be a bit much he'd step in. So of course there were times where Levy hung back on his orders while Natsu and Cana carried out the job their team had taken. It was annoying, but no one argued with the guild master since they knew he was doing it to help keep them safe especially since those were the jobs that she and Natsu would come back from with injuries and or severely depleted magic wise. Being told not to go with her team a few times had really caused self esteem issues in the bluette, no matter how many times her teammates told her otherwise.

"But I just hold you guys back."

"Levy, do you think Natsu or I care about something stupid like that? You are our friend and we love working together with you. That's why we made Team Natsu. All we care about is having fun with our friends. So don't you dare say you don't deserve to be on our team."

"Cana I know you guys wouldn't let anything bad happen, but I just can't keep up when you guys have to get serious. I'd just be getting in the way."

Levy commented close to tears at this point. Cana was close to tears as well, but rather than sadness, hers were from frustration at how much of an idiot Levy was being.

"Levy, you aren't getting it! Saying you don't deserve to be on Team Natsu is the same thing as saying you don't deserve to be our friend!"

The brunette commented as she forced Levy to look her in the eye. This time her words got through, and Levy lunged towards her, wrapping Cana up in a hug as she apologized. Cana and Natsu were the first friends she ever made, so they were special to her, their friendship was one of the few things she would rather die than give up.

Before either of them could speak however they both felt the absolutely monstrous pressure that was Natsu's magic when he got serious. It was enough to wake Gray up and look out the window towards the temple with awe. Muttering to himself Gray didn't notice the glare Cana shot him for the nickname he had given Natsu.

"That fire breathing moron is this strong?"

* * *

S.R: The next chapter should prove interesting. I'm not even sure how the fight is going to go just yet. All I have figured out for it is the finishing move, which if I may say so will be glorious. But yeah, look forward to the next chapter. I'll see you guys then.


	18. Chapter 18

S.R: I think I had a bit too much fun with this fight. It's not going overboard so much as it is I came up with three different versions of this fight. This is just the one I chose to go with. Anyway, it's been a while since I put a disclaimer in this one.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL OR ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS.

S.R: with that out of the way, here you guys go.

* * *

Since they would have coordinate Natsu didn't bother cutting his **Soul Link** spell. Instead he stood up and rolled his neck before smashing his fists together.

"I'm all fired up! Let's do this!"

At that moment the last remnants of the icy cocoon around the demon known as Deliora shattered. Natsu's keen eyes noticed the movement of the demons body taking in a deep breath before it let out an earsplitting scream.

"Not bad, but mine's better."

He taunted the demon before his magic pooled around him. Roaring as he immediately activated his **Dragon Force**, the pink haired man glared defiantly towards his opponent.

**Meanwhile**

"It's all over. Deliora has gotten free."

Gray commented as the roar that haunted his dreams echoed through the air. Even though he was stunned by Natsu's full strength, he just couldn't believe that it was possible for someone to defeat Deliora.

But then Natsu's response was heard, leaving the group gobsmacked. From what Gray and Cana had told Levy, the temple was far enough away that with a barrier up they shouldn't even be able to feel the clash between Natsu and the demon. Yet Natsu's roar was not only far louder than Deliora's it was also somehow shaking the ground even in the village. It made them shudder to think what would happen without the barrier around the temple.

"At least he's taking this seriously…"

Cana muttered to herself. But because of the ringing in their ears from Natsu's bellow, no one actually heard her.

**Back to Natsu**

"**Fire Dragon King's ****Explosive ****Roar**!"

The moment the pillar of flames that surrounded Natsu as he activated **Dragon Force** dissipated, he launched the first attack of the fight. The crimson colored flames of his burned hotly and harshly as the smashed into Deliora, causing the demon to slide back a few feet.

Even though he could see that his fire was clearly damaging Deliora, Natsu was surprised to see the demon treating it as if his attack was nothing. As if the only reason the demon was pushed back was because it was caught off guard. Reaching forward with one hand to block the fire, Deliora reared back before bringing his other hand down to the ground causing a small tremor to shake the cavernous room they were in. The quake was enough to cause the ground to become a mess. Cracks started forming as sections of the room rose and others fell.

The floor underneath Natsu's feet was one of the sections that fell. Rather than let himself fall and possibly be crushed when Deliora started causing debris to fall from the ceiling, he instead jumped towards the demon.

"**Fire Dragon King's Iron Fist**."

Natsu's fist met Deliora's causing a shock-wave to ripple out from the power they were exerting. A second later and the deadlock was broken as Deliora fist was pushed back as it's wrist was twisted. Yet he wasn't able to smile or celebrate as Deliora's other hand smacked into him from above.

The Fire Dragon Slayer managed to catch himself as the demon tried to crush him against the floor. No matter how much force Deliora put into crushing him, Natsu held the hand up even as the ground cratered around him.

"Well now. This is going to be fun after all."

Natsu commented with a wicked grin on his face. In the years since he had adapted the **Fire Commandment** to create his now standard **Fire Dragon Slaying** magic the pink haired man had secretly been working to add some of the standard **Fire Commandment **spells to his **Fire Dragon Slaying** arsenal. Of course this included being able to use them with his **Fire Dragon King** versions as well.

"**Fire Dragon King's Bullet Bar****r****age!"**

Large balls of crimson fire came to life in the air behind Natsu, before shooting forth. Roaring in pain as it was forced to use both hands to protect its face from the outrageously hot flames Deliora retreated back from the pink haired Dragon Slayer.

"Let's try this one then… **Fire Dragon King's Explosive Fist**!"

This time Natsu's fist made contact with Deliora's kneecap. The impact caused the demon to cry out in pain, the first sound it had made since waking up. But Natsu was pleased, as it meant he was actually doing damage.

"Not so tough now are ya!"

He taunted as the demon kneeled down, unable to stay standing. But the fight was only getting started. Once more Deliora's mouth opened up, but instead of sound a green ball of energy formed before blasting towards Natsu.

"Oh shit! **Fire Dragon King's Blazing Wall**!"

He tried to make a barrier to stop the attack, his instincts screaming at him not to let Deliora's attack touch him. But to his shock it passed through his flames easily. If it weren't for the fact Igneel screamed to move, Natsu would have stayed rooted in place due to his shock.

'_What the hell?! How did that get through my flames?!'_

Since he was still linked with Igneel the dragon was able to answer.

'_**My fire is unique as the number of things that can't be burned by them can only be counted on one hand. Acnologia's magic **__**and **__**Zeref's Black Magic. Of course you can wield my crimson flames, but you aren't quite at my level, so anyone with enough magic to counter you can overpower your flames.'**_

Jumping over the incoming fist, Natsu ran up Deliora's arm. He knew it was going to be a cheap shot, but given the fact that Deliora had enough magic to overpower the specialty of his **Fire Dragon Kings** flames even after being sealed for over a decade, the pink haired man didn't care.

"**Fire Dragon King's Piercing Claw**"

The moment his chant ended Natsu extended his arm in front of him, casing his attack to tear through Deliora's eye. The demon wailing in pain once more as it flailed it's hands in an attempt to knock the Dragon Slayer away. Unable to stay on Deliora's shoulder Natsu jumped away from the flailing body of the demon as it staggered backwards against the wall to steady itself.

"**T****his is most vexing****.**"

Natsu's eyes widened in shock. The entire time they'd been fighting he assumed Deliora was a mindless beast, unable to communicate in the slightest. Yet it's deep and gravely voice just proved him wrong.

"**T****o think that some lowly human would force me to have to activate my Regeneration magic… I will enjoy killing you.**"

As it spoke, Deliora's wounds began to bubble up, a weird green vapor like fog flowing freely from the burn marks, and the shredded eye drew Natsu's attention to the fact the demon was actually recovering from the damage he'd dealt.

'_**Natsu if you don't get serious here this demon will kill us.'**_

Igneel told Natsu through their link.

"You can certainly try. But I've still got some aces up my sleeve. **Fire Dragon King's Secret Art: ****Crushing Fangs**!"

Natsu's crimson flames gathered around him condensing to form the head of a dragon roaring in anger. Swing his arms across each other in the direction of Deliora, Natsu sent his flaming dragon towards the demon. Once his fire dragon was close enough it closed it's maw around the demons body, heavily burning everywhere it touched and causing a few holes to appear as the fangs of fire pierced into Deliora's body.

Still not done with his assault Natsu used his fire as cover so that he could get closer to the demon. When he knew there was no way that Deliora would be able to stop his next attack in time, he let his spell fade, the fire racing back to him for his next attack.

"**Fire Dragon King's Volcanic Impact**!"

This time his crimson fire formed two large arms that mimicked his movements exactly. The palms of the two large hands caught Deliora's shoulders before throwing the demon back up against the wall of the cavern. Several stalactites began to fall from the ceiling at that point, but Natsu's fire destroyed them before they could even get close.

Deliora tried to swat at Natsu once again, only to find that it couldn't move. The Dragon Slayers previous attack wasn't meant to do damage so much as it was to implant the demon in the wall so it couldn't move. Though the demon didn't mind as it's regeneration magic was already working on fixing it's body.

"Sorry about that, but I couldn't have you interrupting this one."

Natsu told the demon when he noticed Deliora trying to free itself from the wall of the cavern they were fighting in. Sweat was pouring down Natsu's body as he focused his magic.

'_**You reckless fool! If this doesn't work you'll kill yourself!'**_

Igneel was screaming at him but Natsu was ignoring the dragon. He knew that if he failed the backlash would kill him. How could he not know, what with all the magic he was using. But luck was on his side as two magic circles appeared in the air behind him. One golden circle and one crimson circle.

"The fires of the Dragon King, and the illusions of the fairies…. **Fire Dragon King's Illusionary Blade: Judgment of the Monarch**!"

From the golden magic circle a large sword began to take shape. As it the blade came into existence, the crimson magic circle enveloped the blade before it burst into flames. The moment it was complete Natsu placed his hands on the hilt.

With a deep breath he swung the sword once in a vertical strike, leaving a trail of blazing fire to arc through the air.

Deliora let out an agonized roar of pain as Natsu's attack cleaved it in two. The power behind his spell was so destructive that the wall started to collapse as well. As he let the magical attack fade out, the wall finally gave way enough that the two halves of Deliora's body could fall. Yet even after the massive amount of damage Natsu had inflicted the demon was still alive. The green fog like matter floated off of Deliora's body as the two halves began to put themselves back together.

Even before it was finished healing Natsu heard Deliora's voice once more.

"**That was a rather commendable attempt. But nothing short of Master Zeref himself could defeat me.**"

The demon commented, hoping to see despair on the humans face when it finally recovered it's sight enough to continue fighting. Yet Deliora's didn't see despair. Or fear. Or any of the emotions it would have expected to see. Only a mocking smile, as the Dragon Slayer climbed out of the exit hole he made in the cavern wall.

"That's better. Now I don't have to worry about bringing that cave down on top of me."

Natsu commented as he pulled out a lacrima that he kept on his body at all times. Crushing it to dust in his hand the magic contained became fire that he consumed to restore his magic even if it was just a little bit.

'_**You damn brat! Stop playing around and go for the kill already!'**_

'_I know. Just make sure we don't miss our timing.'_

As Natsu and Igneel chatted, Natsu charged towards Deliora his fire creating a large swirling aura around him. When he got close enough that he knew he had enough leg strength to jump the rest of the way, he did. His flames took shape around him. Deliora still wasn't fully recovered but he reared back to punch his opponent anyway.

'_The moment we make contact I want you to take over __you crazy old lizard__.'_

'_**You damn brat. I'm not that old!**_'

Igneel grumbled at him but didn't argue as they prepared for the dragon to temporarily take control over Natsu's body.

"This is it. **Fire Dragon King's Secret Art: ****Spiraling ****Phoenix Blade**!"

Unlike his regular **Sword Horn** attack, this version focused Natsu's flames into the shape of an actual sword around his body. But that's not the only difference. Because he is rotating his body, the flames rotate as well, adding to the attacks piercing power. Which was more than enough to drill through Deliora's incoming arm, and rip through it's chest.

However with Igneel taking over, the attack had one extra effect. The remaining flames that trailed behind Natsu's body were manipulated into entering the hole in Deliora's chest before rampaging through his body, burning it to ashes from the inside out.

'_**Alright brat, that's all I got.'**_

Igneel spoke as he felt the control he'd taken slip away from him. Natsu smiled happily as his magic faded out and he fell to the ground. Magically he was exhausted, but since the fight didn't drag out as long as he thought it would, he was able to prevent himself from smashing in the ground head first with his physical abilities alone.

He still created a crater however. But because of the few observations he'd made while fighting Deliora, he was positive the demon was finished. So he didn't bother pulling himself out of the crater, instead he slowly sat down, before falling to his back to star up at the sky.

"Man that was fun."

'_**I'd yell at you for the stunt you pulled to get us out of that cavern and away from that woman's prying eyes, but I think your mate will do enough of that for me.'**_

Igneel commented, letting Natsu know he wasn't the only one to notice the orb that was recording his fight with the demon. Then again the fact that he broke her barrier with his single person Unison Raid should be more than enough to prove he had the power to finish Deliora off.

'_I'm just glad I noticed how Deliora's regeneration worked. Every time it activated it consumed large amounts of magic. Since vital organs would probably require a ton of magic, I figured his head or his chest would be the best target.'_

'_**His brain and his heart as the two most important organs would require more magic tha**__**n**__** all of his other wounds put together. A sound assumption. But how'd you know he didn't have enough magic left to pull it off?**_'

Igneel couldn't help but be proud of how attentive Natsu was even in the middle of a fight. Though he wasn't sure how Natsu was able to determine that they were ready for the final attack when they were.

'_H__e hadn't fully recovered from being cut in half when we hit him. The combined damage should have been far to much for him to recover. If he had enough to regenerate his heart, he wouldn't have had enough magic left to finish pulling himself back together completely.'_

Natsu responded, his words telling Igneel he already knew what would happen in that scenario.

'_**In which case you'd use your physical capabilities to get away and let him tire himself out chasing after you. He'd revert to a dormant state and you could crush whatever object he became into dust. You planned it out quite well, brat.**_'

After a moment of just sitting there staring up at the sky, Natsu pulled himself to his feet. It wouldn't take long for the others to realize the fight was over and come running. Climbing out of the crater he noticed that Deliora a large section of Deliora's charred body had become dust in the wind already.

"Damn I'm good."

He said, already aware of the fact that Cana, Gray, Levy, and Happy were close enough to hear.

"What the hell? Why do you barely look winded? Deliora is a fucking monster!"

Gray yelled when he noticed that Natsu didn't seem all that roughed up. Cana and Levy were also curious as they examined the surrounding area for evidence of the fight. Happy just settled for landing on Natsu's head and pulling out a fish to munch on.

"Eh? That thing? He made a good punching bag but that was about it."

Natsu joked as he pointed over his shoulder with his thumb towards the corpse of the demon. Gray was so shock he fell to the ground when he saw it. Cana and Levy noticed that there were a few wounds present, but they all looked like each hit was meant to be fatal.

A few mostly closed puncture wounds on the upper chest and neck. The partially recovered wound from being split down the middle. The torn up arm and hole through it's chest. On any other creature any one of those wounds would have been fatal.

Levy shook her head in amazement at the kind of damage Natsu could dish out on something and just call it 'a good punching bag'. Cana rounded on Natsu at that point, she was going to yell at him about the whole thing, but then she noticed a few red spots on the ground.

Rushing to his side she discovered the source was on the back of his hand. Natsu didn't even notice the wound until she pointed it out.

"Oh, when did that happen?"

He asked as he looked at the torn skin and busted knuckles of his right hand. Rolling her eyes Cana just pulled a roll of gauze out of the medical kit she was carrying just in case Natsu needed patched up.

"Huh. I guess that demon wasn't as weak as I thought."

"Do I need to make you take your shirt off so we can see if you've got any other wounds?"

Cana questioned as she wrapped his knuckles up. She and Natsu both knew there were a few jokes that could be said. But luckily Natsu had enough sense to keep thing serious.

"Nah, I'm fine. This was probably form when my fist met his head on."

Unsure on if she should believe him or not Cana just looked him dead in the eye.

"Hey, the only reason Deliora is such a monster is the amount of magic needed to kill him. I only got hit once. After that I blitzed him pretty hard."

"So you got pissed off and threw all your magic at him in retaliation for the one shot he got in?"

Cana asked, wondering why Natsu seemed to have no magic left in him.

"No, I had to keep throwing magic at him because he regenerated much faster than Lullaby did."

Natsu responded, knowing that his girlfriend wanted to know why he had so little magic left.

"Uh-huh. What kind of stunt did you pull that drained you so badly you had to use the lacrima you carry around to top yourself back up _before_ continuing the fight?"

She asked, with a glare as she noticed that Natsu no longer had a Lacrima on his person. The pink haired man winced even though he was expecting it. He knew she'd figure it out the moment she realized he didn't have the lacrima to use now that the fight was over. Knowing that she'd find out the truth even if he lied to her Natsu was unable to lie.

"I may or may not have tried to do a Unison Raid on my own..."

He mumbled while pushing his fingers together bashfully.

After Cana spent a solid hour yelling at Natsu for his stunt, Levy finally managed to snap Gray out of his shock at seeing Deliora defeated, and the **Ice Make **mage distracted the brunette with an ice cube to the back.

Which then led to him reminding her that they had to get back to the village. As they returned Levy explained that the **Moon Drip** spell that was used to free Deliora had a side effect of creating a lens of concentrated magic in the sky. Due to the nature of the island and it's inhabitants the lens in the sky had the effect of altering the memories of the people that lived in the village.

"Until that lens in the sky is destroyed they won't be able to properly recall things. That is the true nature of the curse on the people here."

Levy finished her explaining. Which Natsu easily understood.

"I thought something was off about them..."

Natsu mumbled as they agreed to wait until nightfall to deal with the lens. After all, Natsu's quest from the council was finished, but they still had accepted the quest to cure the curse that was placed on the village.

While Levy explained to the people about their curse Gray used his magic to make a ladder for Natsu to climb up high enough to shatter the condensed layer of purple magic that hung in the air over the island. The moment his feet touched the ground again he was bombarded with thanks from the village chief.

"Please stay and let us prepare a feast as thanks for helping us. Especially for handling that other matter."

He spoke in a hushed tone as his people celebrated around him.

**The Next Day**

After the boat ride back to Hargeon, and then the train ride to Magnolia, the group of Fairy Tail mages wanted nothing more than to relax at the guild hall and hang out with their friends. But when they got into town Natsu picked up on the fact he could smell a lot more iron than normal. Add on the fact that he could hear the whispers of the townsfolk as they walked towards the guild, and the pink haired Dragon Slayer knew something was up.

"Uh guys… Somethings wrong with the guild hall."

He said as the group rounded the corner.

"What the-"

Gray started to say but was cut off as a voice called out behind them.

"Oh hey, welcome back you guys. As you can see Phantom Lord got us good."

Even though there was still a bit of pep to her voice, they all knew it was forced. Even though they wanted to ask Mira about it, they walked with her towards the guild, figuring that the guild master would fill them in.

"Since everything is so messed up, we've set up in the basement for now."

Mira commented as she opened the door and led them down the stairs.

"Gramps what the hell happened!"

Gray shouted as the group was able to see the guild master sitting on top of a barrel with a mug in his hand. Natsu wanted to ask the same question, but he was keeping himself in check for the moment.

"Phantom Lord sent some thugs over in the middle of the night."

"So why aren't we getting payback?"

"Look around Gray. Does anyone seem hurt? Of course not. They were too spineless to actually harm any of us. It just isn't worth it to attack them back. Besides the guild hall can be rebuilt."

Huffing in response Gray moved to grab a drink for himself. Levy moved off to see what Jet and Droy were up too.

"Why don't you fill him in. I'll have some drinks ready for when you're done talking."

Cana suggested as she took the sleeping form of Happy off Natsu's head. The blue cat didn't even shift as she wrapped an arm around him to keep her grip. Natsu didn't really like drinking, heck he didn't like drinking in general. That didn't mean he wouldn't do it occasionally. Even though he couldn't get drunk, the idea of relaxing with a drink after a stressful day still appealed to him after all.

Knowing that Natsu was going to tell him about his encounter with Deliora Makarov hopped off of the barrel he was sitting on and moved down a side hall. However now that they wouldn't be making a scene Natsu pressed on him like Gray had when they first entered the basement.

"Why the hell aren't we ripping Phantom Lord a new one?"

"Like I told Gray, it's not worth it. They just damaged the building, which can be rebuilt. It isn't any lasting damage so it isn't anything to get upset about."

Makarov responded, though he wasn't expecting the anger in Natsu's next statement.

"The fuck it isn't gramps. This was done by another Dragon Slayer I can smell it. You told Gray they were spineless. Hell no, those bastards are using their own Dragon Slayer to call me out. He attacked my nest. It's a message plain and simple. They want a fight."

Having forgotten about Natsu's pride and instincts as a Dragon Slayer, Makarov was harshly reminded of Natsu's temper. Granted the main reason he forgot about it is because Natsu had learned to take a joke, and stay relaxed so as not to have a repeat of the time he accidentally burned Erza when she approached him when he wasn't in the mood to talk.

"They want a fight? Well then all the more reason not to do anything. Why should we give them what they want?"

"Gramps, I'll be flat out with you. I know about what's hidden down here. Mom told me she heard Precht talking about putting it down here when he created her grave-site on Tenrou."

Makarov went wide eyed. He hadn't expected the first guild master to share the secret with her son. Mostly because of just how dangerous that knowledge could be.

"Precht made sure the room couldn't be destroyed in anyway. Worst case this attack destroyed the building and revealed that sealed room, and everyone that saw it assumed it was a vault. After all very little money is kept here at the guild."

"Unless he had a Dragon Slayer helping him, I seriously doubt there isn't a way to break into that room or destroy it. Especially after pulling that shit I did against Deliora."

Natsu commented, wanting Makarov to assure him that he'd personally checked to make sure the room was safe. After all the contents of the secret room were important to him, as the son of the guilds first master and founder.

Makarov's eyes narrowed at the mention of Deliora, but he knew what Natsu wanted, so he put his question aside for the moment.

"Natsu my boy, it's alright. I come down here once a month to check the seals on the room anyway and refill the magic when needed. I made sure that it was still sealed up tight after the attack."

When he heard that Natsu let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank fuck."

Even though he could appreciate the fact Natsu felt better knowing things were okay, Makarov didn't give him the moment to relax. Just from how tense he sounded when he talked about Deliora, the guild master knew that he wasn't going to like hearing about what Natsu did in his clash with the demon from the Book of Zeref.

* * *

S.R: Okay, okay I know this is a bit early for it. But come on. With this version of Natsu, it makes perfect sense for him to also know about Lumen Historie. I mean It's his mother that's involved, so of course he has to know. Besides we won't see or hear about it again until the battle against Grimoire Heart. So it's not much of a deviation or twist from canon. Anyway, I'll see you guys with the next chapter.


	19. Chapter 19

S.R: I've been looking forward to when I did this arc. Mostly because I enjoy the stories where Natsu just completely wrecks Gajeel while he's part of Phantom Lord. I mean he has to prove his dominance somehow. Besides, Jose is a prick and it's always fun to see him get the snot kicked out of him. So I present to you the war with Phantom Lord….. Part one.

* * *

**Last Time**

"Gramps, I'll be flat out with you. I know about what's hidden down here. Mom told me she heard Precht talking about putting it down here when he created her grave-site on Tenrou."

Makarov went wide eyed. He hadn't expected the first guild master to share the secret with her son. Mostly because of just how dangerous that knowledge could be.

"Precht made sure the room couldn't be destroyed in anyway. Worst case this attack destroyed the building and revealed that sealed room, and everyone that saw it assumed it was a vault. After all very little money is kept here at the guild."

"Unless he had a Dragon Slayer helping him, I seriously doubt there isn't a way to break into that room or destroy it. Especially after pulling that shit I did against Deliora."

Natsu commented, wanting Makarov to assure him that he'd personally checked to make sure the room was safe. After all the contents of the secret room were important to him, as the son of the guilds first master and founder.

Makarov's eyes narrowed at the mention of Deliora, but he knew what Natsu wanted, so he put his question aside for the moment.

"Natsu my boy, it's alright. I come down here once a month to check the seals on the room anyway and refill the magic when needed. I made sure that it was still sealed up tight after the attack."

When he heard that Natsu let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank fuck."

Even though he could appreciate the fact Natsu felt better knowing things were okay, Makarov didn't give him the moment to relax. Just from how tense he sounded when he talked about Deliora, the guild master knew that he wasn't going to like hearing about what Natsu did in his clash with the demon from the Book of Zeref.

**This Time**

"So tell me about how you handled Deliora."

Makarov commented after Natsu let out a sigh of relief that the guilds biggest secret was still safe. A smirk came to his face when Natsu went stiff and started to sweat lightly. This was going to be interesting.

"Deliora was far stronger than Lullaby. Enough so that I had to use my emergency Lacrima to restore enough magic to deliver the finishing blow."

Narrowing his eyes Makarov pressed the pink haired man.

"What did you do?"

Luckily for Natsu before he could answer they heard Mira calling for them.

"Master, the council has sent a messenger for you and Natsu!"

Sadly Natsu had a sinking feeling in his gut as they walked back towards the largest room in the basement, where the rest of the guild was hanging around. His suspicion was spot on. When they rejoined the guild to see the messenger it wasn't they're regular messenger frog. It was a council member. Council woman Ultear to be precise.

"Council woman Ultear, how may we help you today?"

Makarov asked as he quickly hid his surprise at seeing a member of the Magic Council coming to them in person.

"We know Natsu completed the job we assigned to him, but I decided to come by and ask if he would give a detailed report of his fight with the demon known as Deliora."

At that point the guild was silent. They all knew Natsu had taken an S-class level job from the council as "punishment" for the guild's destructive ways. But to here that they made him fight one of the demons that had been created by Zeref? They were shocked he was still alive, even after the fact he man handled Lullaby not that long ago.

"You know damn well how that fight went down. After all you left your precious orb there to record the fight."

Natsu growled out, not entirely happy with the fact she revealed the mission so readily. It was given to him by the council in secret, and was supposed to stay that way. He didn't need all the attention it was bringing him. Not when he just wanted to relax.

"Are you saying that uh, _unique_, spell of yours was indeed what ended the fight?"

Nodding Natsu turned to join Cana at the makeshift table she'd found. He didn't feel like talking about the fight anymore, and he had a feeling she was going to reveal it to the guild as a whole so he didn't have to worry about explaining it to Makarov anymore.

"Well then… Saint Makarov, I'd advise you to prevent Mr. Dragneel from getting as serious as he did against Deliora any time soon. Being able to do a Unison Raid by yourself is something completely unheard of, yet not only did he finish Deliora off with one in such a manner, it was far more powerful than any Unison Raid I've ever seen. If he were to do that here on the main land it's possible he could attract unwanted attention."

Ultear commented as she pulled out a video lacrima. Handing it to the short guild master of Fairy Tail she abruptly turned on her heels and left.

'_That Dragon Slayer is not to be taken lightly. I must warn master Hades to tread lightly when it comes to Fairy Tail.'_

She thought to herself as she climbed up the stairs and left the ruins of the Fairy Tail guild.

Meanwhile Makarov couldn't even contain the shock he felt at hearing what Natsu had done. Rather than yell at the pink haired brat however he activated the lacrima in his hands wanting to see it for himself. Luckily it projected the recording onto the wall in front of him so the entire guild could watch the fight, as at this point they were all interested in what Natsu had accomplished.

To say they were shocked was an understatement. Several members fainted upon seeing Natsu's finishing move. Cana couldn't help but flush at the thought of how powerful her man was. Makarov was stunned that Natsu had pulled that off without any issues. After all, discounting Natsu's stunt, it was impossible to perform a Unison Raid without a second person.

Knowing he was about to be bombarded with questions by his friends Natsu quickly ran from the guild hall. He really didn't want the attention. All the Dragon Slayer wanted was to relax. Cana having already chewed her boyfriend out once, understood and followed after him intending to distract him by making up for the date they missed because of the council making him take the Deliora job.

After all the excitement they'd been through Natsu and Cana both relaxed as they curled up together on the couch in Natsu's home. They spent the rest of the day by themselves and eventually fell asleep while cuddling on the couch. In fact it was a deep enough sleep that Natsu didn't even react when his nose twitched as a somewhat familiar scent tickled his senses.

**The Next Morning**

Natsu and Cana were groggy as they woke up. Since they fell asleep on his couch they were both quite stiff as well. Cana tried to go back to sleep even after Natsu had finally gotten their limbs untangled and climbed free of her grasp.

"Come on Cana you've got to wake up."

"mm… Five more minutes."

"Cana, if you get up now I'll make breakfast."

That was enough to make her spring up from the couch. Even though she was the one that taught him the basics of cooking back when he stopped relying on the guild for meals, they quickly learned that he was the better chef between them. In fact Cana was already drooling at the idea of Natsu's cooking, which was why it was so easy for him to get her to wake up.

"Okay, I'm up."

It wasn't the first time she'd stayed the night at his home, so Natsu was used to her eagerness to wake up when he made the offer. That didn't stop him from snorting at the sudden burst of energy she would get when it happened..

"Why don't you go get a shower to fully wake yourself up while I get started."

The pink haired man offered as he moved towards his kitchen. Since it was a good idea Cana nodded, even though he didn't see. The brunette quickly made her way towards Natsu's bathroom, stopping by his bedroom to wake Happy up from his hammock.

Twenty minutes later she and the flying blue cat were sitting next to each other as Natsu finished up with the omelets he was making for himself and Cana. Happy had already gotten himself a raw fish to nibble on so he didn't worry about the blue fur-ball that was his surrogate son. The brunette was already drooling again at the smell. Natsu's breakfast recipes always smell so tasty. Though she didn't know part of that was because he'd use his magic to speed up the process for things like bacon or sausage.

"Regular omelets or special ones?"

Cana asked when she noticed that he was putting their food on plates.

"Special. I added some diced up bits of bacon, a bit of cheese, and some chopped peppers."

The **Card** mage's eyes lit up after hearing the last ingredient. Sure the spicy peppers were likely there for him, but she also liked spicy foods. Eagerly tucking into the food when he set her plate in front of her, Cana nearly moaned in approval at the first bite.

"Natsu, you are perfect."

She said. Though they both knew what she meant was that she wanted to marry him already. Most of the guild would have known as well. After all they'd been together for years. They were the perfect couple, and the guild was already making bets on how long it would take for them to get married once Natsu finally turned 18. Though they didn't know how long it'd be, since Gildarts had threatened to put him in a coma if he wasn't around to see the proposal and celebrate it with everyone.

Unfortunately their peaceful morning was interrupted by a shouting Gray who burst through the door.

"You guys have to see this!"

He shouted, sounding completely enraged. He looked pissed off too. But because it was gray he was already shirtless, and as he spoke he was removing his pants to stand there in just his underwear.

"Gray get your fucking clothes back on before I kick your ass."

Natsu growled, unhappy about his calm morning being disturbed. But he was shocked when Gray snapped back instead of getting embarrassed about his stripping habit.

"Shut up and follow me already!"

Sharing a look with Cana, Natsu sighed as they stood up. Both of them wrapped their plates up and put them in the fridge for later before following Gray towards the park in central Magnolia. Happy floated along behind them still happily munching on his fish.

Pushing their way to the front of the crowd Natsu and Cana were both horrified by what they saw. Levy had contacted them after Cana left the guild to help Natsu relax the previous day and said she'd be doing some jobs around town with Jet and Droy. But they hadn't expected anything to happen to the trio.

Strung up against the bark of the largest tree in the middle of the park was team Shadow Gear. Battered and bruised. Dried blood coated parts of their bodies. Jet had one leg twisted awkwardly enough to make it obvious it was broken, his hat was in shredded pieces that barely clung onto his head. Droy had dozens of cuts visible all over his body on top of all the bruises that they could see and the containers that housed the seeds he used for his **Plant** magic were all busted open and completely empty.

Unlike her male counterparts, Levy's clothes were completely in tatters, only leaving enough to preserve her modesty. Several gashes could be seen on her arms and legs, and part of her hair was matted down and caked with dried blood. Painted on her stomach for all to see was the symbol for the guild Phantom Lord.

Even though he was pissed, Natsu kept a tight enough grip on his magic not letting it lash out like it normally would when he was angry. Stomping up to the tree he began to rip the metal shackles that were used to keep them tree hanging, crucified, against the tree while growling out.

"Why the absolute fuck didn't anyone else try to get them down?!"

At that same time Makarov was pushing through the crowd. He was close enough to see what Natsu was doing as he spoke. Sharing a look with his S-class wizards that had gathered around him as Natsu handed Levy, Jet, and Droy off to Elfman and Warren to be taken to the hospital, Makarov nodded.

"Phantom Lord… You have made your last mistake today. I can take the insults. I can take the bad publicity…. Hell I can take the destruction of our property. But this? Jose you fucked up by attacking my family… YOU WANT A WAR PHANTOM LORD? FINE, WE'LL GIVE YOU A WAR!"

While all the members of the guild that had gathered agreed with the guild master, they were mostly shocked to hear the old man curse. In all their time as part of Fairy Tail, none of them could ever remember hearing him curse before. But they easily put that aside and began to prepare themselves to deal with Phantom Lord. After all Makarov was correct. Now that the line had been crossed, Fairy Tail was more than ready to go to war with Phantom Lord.

As everyone slowly filtered out of the park Mira walked up to Cana and Natsu.

"I know she's your team mate as well, but go with the master and get Phantom Lord for this… I'll stay and look after them. Okay?"

The white haired barmaid told the two in a soft voice. They could tell she was struggling not to cry. Not just because their friends were hurt. But because she couldn't do anything. Ever since Lisanna died, she had been unable to use her **Take Over** magic. So she couldn't fight, and it was tearing her up to not be able to do anything.

Pulling her in for a quick hug Cana gave her a comforting pat on the back.

"I'll be sure to blow their place up for you Mira."

Natsu commented as he gave her a gently pat on the head. Already going over his plans in his head Natsu almost chuckled out loud as he thought of the perfect payback for Phantom Lord's Iron Dragon Slayer.

Makarov was waiting for the two of them when they arrived at Fairy Tail.

"Let your mother know what's happened Natsu. She needs to be aware of this."

Makarov commented in a rather subdued tone. Natsu was unsure why though so he asked about the reason to let her know. Sighing the guild master stated "Mavis needs to know what's happening with the guild."

Unable to argue, Natsu just nodded as he moved to find a place to sit down. He didn't really need to leave the guild, but he wanted it to be quiet so he wondered into the nearby forest. Finding a nice and open clearing he sat down in front of one of the trees and closed his eyes.

"**Soul Link**" he whispered, thinking of his blonde mother.

'_Natsu? It hasn't been that long since we last talked. Did you deal with the Deliora situation for the council already?'_

He felt her voice in his mind. Despite the seriousness of the situation Natsu wanted to laugh, as he could tell she was still pouting about it.

'_Yeah, Igneel and I dealt with Deliora. But that's not why I needed to talk to you.'_

'_Oh? What's going on now?'_

Natsu sighed heavily before responding.

'G_ramps told me to tell you about what we're about to do. You see when we got back from dealing with Deliora I found out that guild Phantom Lord trashed the guild hall during the night. Then last night they attacked three of our guild members and crucified them to a tree in the middle of the park in central Magnolia, with their insignia painted on one of their stomachs.'_

Even though he couldn't see it, Natsu knew his mother went wide eyed upon hearing the news.

'_Knowing little Maki, he ignored the guild hall being damaged but lost his temper when he found out about guild members getting harmed. You're going to start a fight with Phantom Lord aren't you?'_

'_Yeah.'_

Natsu responded because he couldn't deny it, he wouldn't deny it either, since they knew the guild was that protective. Both of them knew that they would retaliate when someone harmed the guild.

'_My Fairy spells that I taught you… They can't be used against Phantom Lord.'_

'_What?!'_

Natsu nearly screamed when he heard his mother say that the three special spells she had taught him wouldn't work.

'_Years ago, before Fairy Tail was founded there was a dark guild by the name of Blue Skull. Myself and the other founders of Fairy Tail defeated them and drove them out of Magnolia. But their leader, a man named Geoffrey got away. Not to long after we established Fairy Tail he created a new guild to compete with us. After the magic council began enforcing monthly meetings between the guild masters he approached me privately during one of those meetings. Point blank Geoffrey told me "My guild will be better than yours. We will become the dominant guild in Fiore, and then we will crush you pests." His guild was named Phantom Lord._

_That's likely why they have lashed out right now. But back to the reason for why my Fairy Spells won't work. __**Fairy Sphere**__ as you know is a defensive spell. There's no reason to use it. __**Fairy Glitter**__ will harm anyone with darkness in their heart. But the chances are rather high that it may actually kill someone, which the council would have you arrested for, so again there is no reason to use it.'_

Here Mavis went quiet, almost as if she didn't quite know how to explain why the last of her Fairy Spells couldn't be used in the upcoming fight. But Natsu needed to know so he pressed for the information.

'_Why can't __**Fairy Law**__ be used?'_

'_**Fairy Law**__ is… Well I restructured an ancient spell known as **Law** to create it. But Geoffrey knew about that, as when we were defeating Blue Skull all those years ago I had to cast **Law** to save Makarov's father Yuri. Having more magical knowledge than me, Geoffrey likely came up with a counter to **Fairy Law** and has passed it down __to his guild.'_

'_Is that even possible?'_

'_I taught you everything there is to know about my three Fairy Spells, so you already know the answer Natsu.'_

She chided him when he asked if it was possible to create a counter for **Fairy Law**. Of course knowing exactly what it did and how it worked, Natsu knew there were ways to fix a person that it had been cast on, but to be able to counter it as it was being cast? The thought was enough to give him a headache.

'_Don't let anyone confront Phantom Lord's guild master on their own, __not you, not Makarov. No one__. Since they've provoked Fairy Tail they likely have a plan in pla__ce, which means this is probably a trap you're about to walk into.'_

With that bit of advice Natsu knew that his mother had gone into her more serious persona, the one that was dubbed as the 'Fairy Tactician'. When she lead Fairy Tail, his mother was brilliant, and strategic enough to have been recruited to plan out battles during the Second Trade War.

'_Cana, Erza, and myself are the only S-class we have that can join the fight right now. Gildarts is out, who knows where, and Laxus is on a job and can't get back in time. So we've already decided to take this a bit more seriously and plan things out before rushing in. Any suggestions?'_

'_Give me more information about what you're up against first.'_

'_Phantom Lord's current guild master is Jose Porla, and he is one of the Wizard Saints, though his rank is lower than gramps' rank. They've got a Dragon Slayer too, he's the one that trashed the guild hall and attacked team Shadow Gear… Other than that the only notable thing I can think of is they've got a group of S-class called the Elemental Four.'_

For some reason as he told her what he knew about the guild they were about to be fighting, Natsu could see his mother nodding along to the information. But she didn't say anything. Natsu didn't either, as he felt that she needed a few minutes to come up with any plans or suggestions.

'_Obviously you have to be the one to deal with the Dragon Slayer. Have Erza go with Makarov when he confronts Jose, who is probably Geoffrey's grandson, and have some of your A ranking members back Cana up while she confronts the Elemental Four… Or you could pretend to spring their trap and see what else they have up their sleeve?'_

'_Alright. I've got to see what gramps says...Once things have settled down I'll be coming out to the island. Love you mom.'_

'_Love you to Natsu.'_

With that Natsu ended his talk with his mother. When he entered the guild basement where everyone was preparing Gray pointed towards one of the storage rooms for where Erza, Cana, and gramps were. As he joined them in discussing how to handle their assault on Phantom Lord he put up a soundproof barrier. They still didn't want the news of Natsu's connection to the guilds first guild master to be known by non S-class members, so it was a precautionary measure.

"Gramps, mom said not to use **Fairy Law **against Phantom Lord."

"I did some digging of my own, Jose is the grandson of Geoffrey Porla the founder of Phantom Lord and previously the guild leader of the dark guild Blue Skull. Does that have anything to do with why she says not to use **Fairy Law**?"

Natsu nodded before explaining.

"Yeah. Geoffrey was there when she cast **Law** to save your dad's life. Apparently **Fairy Law** is just an adapted version. She says he probably came up with a counter to it."

Erza wasn't sure what to make of the news, while Cana and Makarov both frowned at the idea.

"Did she suggest anything else instead?"

With a sigh Natsu told them of his entire talk with his mother and her ideas. Makarov knew of her reputation as the 'Fairy Tactician' and felt that the advice was sound. He also had a feeling he knew exactly what she was talking about when she mentioned 'pretending to spring Phantom Lords trap'.

A small grin came to his face as an idea hit him.

"Natsu my boy, what would you say to leading the charge?"

* * *

S.R: DUN DUN DUN! Okay, but seriously, this arc is fun to write, especially with my plans. Based on how things have gone I'd bet a lot of you have at least partially figured out what I'm doing. Only partially though. Anyway, I'll see you guys next time!


	20. Chapter 20

S.R: Okay, so I want to respond to a review before I get into the chapter..

Review:

This story is amazing! One thing I am worried about is that you are giving Fairy Tail too much power. Even without Natsu and Cana they are over powered. Maybe take Mira out of commission for good? I don't have many ideas, but fix the power balance.

-ParentFunction

Response:

Yes and no on giving Fairy Tail too much power. Yes because Natsu and Cana are stronger and Laxus will be sticking around (no Battle of Fairy Tail arc after dealing with Jellal). But the answer could also be no. Fairy Tail has the power anyway, I mean just look at Gildarts. It's why just like canon I don't have him hanging around. Gildarts would make pretty much everything seem like child's play. Another reason to say no is because the baddies (from this point on) are getting buffed... Well Phantom Lord won't, but that's more because I love the idea of them getting absolutely crushed in this fight. Plus, when we get to it and we get to see some of the other guilds they'll be buffed a bit as well.

As for taking Mira out of commission, I will but not entirely. She still has to get around the mental block she has preventing her from using **Take Over**. But even when that happens she won't instantly be back at full strength. I like to think she'd stick around as the guild's bar maid even after getting back to full strength because it's something she's grown to enjoy doing, and because it's become an ingrained habit. But that doesn't mean she won't step up and fight if she has to.

S.R: Anyway, before I get into the story I just want to say if "( )" means that it's being spoken in the dragon tongue. Mostly because I want to use another language but I haven't decided and it makes it easier for me to find when I come back to add it in later.

* * *

**Last Time**

"Gramps, mom said not to use **Fairy La**w against Phantom Lord."

"I did some digging of my own, Jose is the grandson of Geoffrey Porla the founder of Phantom Lord and previously the guild leader of the dark guild Blue Skull. Does that have anything to do with why she says not to use **Fairy Law**?"

Natsu nodded before explaining.

"Yeah. Geoffrey was there when she cast **Law** to save your dad's life. Apparently **Fairy Law** is just an adapted version. She says he probably came up with a counter to it."

Erza wasn't sure what to make of the news, while Cana and Makarov both frowned at the idea.

"Did she suggest anything else instead?"

With a sigh Natsu told them of his entire talk with his mother and her ideas. Makarov knew of her reputation as the 'Fairy Tactician' and felt that the advice was sound. He also had a feeling he knew exactly what she was talking about when she mentioned 'pretending to spring Phantom Lords trap'.

A small grin came to his face as an idea hit him.

"Natsu my boy, what would you say to leading the charge?"

**This Time**

"This is going to be tricky..."

Natsu muttered as he focused his magic. After Makarov had explained his plan, Natsu felt it was their best bet to catch Phantom Lord off guard. They knew this was a trap. Jose and his guild had purposefully provoked this attack, which meant they were confident that they could handle it. Or that it was a distraction while Phantom messed with their real target.

Just in case Phantom had intended to trap them here, Makarov didn't send everyone to attack. Some of the less combat oriented members of the guild stayed behind, but so did Erza. Since the situation screamed that it was a trap, Natsu argued that they should keep an S-class in reserve just in case things didn't go according to plan. Unable to discount the fact that their plan might not work because they had no clue what Jose's plan was Makarov agreed. The guild master also stayed behind, but that was because it was the only way they'd get out of Phantom Lords trap.

Cana and several of the guilds A Class mages watched with wide eyes as the golden glow that was Natsu's **Illusion** magic condensed in on itself becoming a bright white as it molded it's shape into that of their guild master. The fact that Natsu had made an illusionary clone of their guild master wasn't why they were watching on with wide eyes. No, it was the fact that he had imparted just enough of his magic into the illusion for it to have a magical presence that was extremely similar to the guild masters. Enough so that only those who had spent enough time around Makarov would know that it was a fake.

"What the hell flame-brain?!"

Gray cried out unable to figure out what was going on anymore.

"Phantom Lord provoked us on purpose. This is a trap, and I'm going to spring it. But that means we need this illusion to be as real as possible."

Even though she was there when the guild master suggested it, Cana was still concerned about how their plan could work.

"Natsu are you sure you can handle it? I mean you've got to clash with Gajeel 'Blacksteel' Redfox, and maintain that illusion long enough to find out what Jose's plans are."

"I'll be fine. Blacksteel will know somethings off since he's got the same heightened senses I do, but he won't be able to do anything about it after I call him out. Besides, there's more to this illusion than meats the eye."

At that point Natsu's illusionary Makarov spoke up.

"Alright then, enough talking. We're all ready. Natsu my boy, if you will?"

The group had to contain their surprise at the fact that it even had Makarov's voice. Though it made sense, as they were trying to sell the illusion as the real thing. It's also why it talked as if it was real. Just in case Jose had some kind of surveillance system in place. What they didn't know was that Igneel was hiding inside of Natsu's body, nor that he could transfer his conscious into nearby objects. Such as the lacrima that Natsu had secretly placed in his illusions pocket while everyone was distracted by it's speech.

Grinning widely as he moved Natsu reared back as he sucked in air. Because their Dragon Slayer had dared to enter his home and destroy it, he was going to do the same. Not holding back in the slightest he unleashed his attack.

"**Fire Dragon's ****Explosive Roar**!"

A wicked grin was on his face as he watched his fire completely demolish the doors to Phantom Lords guild hall before rushing into the building and causing structural damage. ' _I'm not being vindictive and enjoying this. No not at all' _he sarcastically commented in the back of his mind.

"What the fuck was that?"

"Shit, we're under attack!"

Fairy Tail heard from inside the building. Because he opened the way Natsu just gestured for them to have at it before rushing into the building. His fake Makarov right on his heels. As the only other S-class present Cana just shouted "Charge!" before following her boyfriend into the Phantom Lord guild hall.

Natsu's fake Makarov kicked a few Phantom Lord nobodies around for a couple minutes, before acting on their plan.

"Natsu, Cana, you're in charge down here. I'm going to find Jose!"

Hiding his face from sight Natsu smiled as he noticed the glint in some of the stronger members of Phantom Lords eyes. '_I knew it. They've got something planned.'_

Roundhouse kicking the small fry in front of him Natsu looked straight up at the ceiling.

"Oh? Is Blacksteel such a chicken shit that he has to hide from me on the ceiling? Are you that scared of me?"

"Ha, you ain't worth my time Salamander!"

A wide grin formed on Natsu's face at those words.

"Oh really?"

Suddenly letting go of the tight hold he had on his magic Natsu let the pressure force the nearby Phantom Lord goons into the ground.

"(Sounds to me like you need a reminder of who your betters are. Insulting my power is the last thing you should be doing, Wingless one.)"

Natsu purposefully taunted in the dragon Language. Cana and Gajeel were the only people that didn't flinch at the sound. Cana because Natsu had been teaching her, because she asked, and Gajeel because he was raised speaking it. Which was why he launched himself at Natsu with a snarl.

In dragon culture, calling someone 'wingless one' meant you were saying they had no right to claim to be dragon-kind. It was the highest form of insult in other words.

"I'll fucking kill you for that one Salamander!"

Gajeel roared as his arm became a solid metal log that he swung intending to cave Natsu's head in. But the pink haired man caught it with one hand. Flames danced to life around his free arm as he tugged Gajeel towards him and smashed his fist into the other Dragon Slayers chest.

**Meanwhile**

"Jose!"

The illusionary clone of Makarov roared out as it entered the masters office of Phantom Lords guild hall. Watching it all through the lacrima that Natsu had put in the illusion's pocket Igneel snorted when he saw the man that was Phantom Lords guild master. Jose Porla was rather gaunt looking. '_Asshole thinks so highly of himself he'd dress like royalty despite looking like he's almost a corpse.'_ He thought to himself after hearing Jose's grandiose speech about how he was finally going to swat the 'pesky fairies' out of the sky and teach them who truly matters.

"Do you really thing the Magic Council will let you get away with this?"

"The magic council can't do shit to me you senile old fool! Phantom Lord is just acting on the request of a client after all."

Though he was curious about what their job could entail he knew, that the fool was too power drunk to realize just how screwed he was. Even if it were true that their attack on Fairy Tail was because of a job request, the Magic Council would likely disband Phantom Lord since conflict between guilds is illegal. Granted the dragon only knew that because he'd been paying attention every time Natsu had met with the council. They were rather vain and even if they openly agreed with Jose about Fairy Tail needing to be dealt with, they'd still turn on him for going against their rules.

"Jose you are the only fool here. The Magic Council wouldn't idly sit by and ignore this just because of a job. Conflict between guilds is illegal no matter the reason after all."

"Let's see you say that to the Heartfilia family then! Jude Heartfilia has handsomely paid Phantom Lord to retrieve his daughter and bring her home in time for the arranged marriage he has set up. Even the council wouldn't go against one of the richest men in Fiore!"

Phantom Lord's guild master argued before laughing maniacally. '_It's a shame Natsu predicted your trap. Let's see how you feel after seeing your plans fall apart.'_Igneel thought to himself as he noticed the rapidly approaching presence.

"**Metsu**"

A voice spoke as the magical energy that Natsu's fake Makarov had was disrupted. Before anything else could happen however, the illusionary Makarov began to crumble and fall apart.

**Back On the Ground Floor.**

Sensing that his illusion had been canceled Natsu had a vicious grin on his face. There were a few bruises covering his arms and he had a chipped tooth, but other than that he was still good, unlike his opponent.

Gajeel was panting heavily and his clothes were burned and singed, as were sections of his hair. Even though Natsu was holding back as they fought, it wasn't even a contest since he was kicking Gajeel around like a ball.

"You're done."

He told the Iron dragon slayer before smashing his fist into the mans face. Gajeel was sent reeling by the punch before collapsing onto his back out cold. As the Iron Dragon Slayer feel a shout of anger and disbelief was heard from above them.

"Fairy Tail, our work is done here. Pull back!"

Natsu called out, before flaring his magic.

"**Fire Dragon's Searing Wall**!"

He called out as his magic created a massive barrier of flames to protect them as they retreated from Phantom Lords guild hall. Returning to the road Natsu and Cana lead everyone back towards Magnolia. Yet before five minutes passed Gray angrily shouted at him.

"What the hell flame brain! We aren't done getting payback for the shit they've pulled!"

Cana rolled her eyes and Natsu suppressed a groan as he turned to face the **Ice Make** mage. While walking backwards he raised his voice so everyone that had joined in the fight could here him and know what was going on.

"Gray, didn't you pay any attention to what we said before going in there? Phantom Lord wanted that fight, they provoked us into attacking them. They had a plan in place. Notice what isn't with us right now? My **Illusion** of gramps. You want to know what would have happened had he been with us? He would have confronted Jose, just to find out it was a trap and Aria, the **Wind** mage of their Elemental Four would have used a spell called **Metsu** on him. **Metsu** drains a target of all of their magic, meaning the more magic they have the more damage it inflicts. Considering his age, having all of his magic drained that way would take gramps out. I mean there's even a small chance it would have killed him."

Everyone went wide eyed at that. But because he knew what Gray would say in response Natsu continued on with his explanation.

"Since his plan failed Jose is pissed. That was a scream of absolute rage we heard before I pulled us out of there. As a Wizard Saint, that bastard is pretty damn strong. While I still have a few tricks up my sleeves to deal with him in a one on one, I can't do that and keep you guys alive, because let's face it. He'd bee actively trying to kill us all… Besides this fight ain't done yet. Phantom Lord didn't get what they wanted, so they'll be back."

**Hours Later**

Natsu and Cana immediately went to Makarov when they got back to the guild. All S-class present were pulled into a meeting about how to handle what was to come. Even Lucy was pulled into the meeting.

"It isn't your fault Lucy. Phantom Lords been wanting this for a while, so the job was just an excuse for them. Not that it would actually fly in front of the Magic Council."

Makarov told her with a comforting smile on his face. After Natsu mentioned that Jose had told his illusion that Phantom Lord was hired to 'retrieve' Jude Heartfilia's daughter he knew the blonde girl would blame herself. Especially now that they knew why she had been targeted, as shortly after team Shadow Gear was taken to the hospital he had noticed a few odd characters tailing the blonde and dealt with them. Upon finding out they were part of Phantom Lord, he made sure to use a lacrima to record a message for Jose.

"You may have had one success at attacking my children, but not this time."

He spoke, before showing the lacrima a scene of the two members of Phantom Lord laying on the ground defeated. That lacrima was the one Natsu had slipped into his illusion's pocket. It was also what caused Jose to scream in anger.

"So how are we going to handle this gramps? Phantom Lord won't take this laying down."

Natsu commented, drawing Makarov back from his thoughts.

"No, no they won't. Jose will be out for blood this time."

* * *

S.R: Yeah this is one of the shorter chapters for this story. Originally this chapter was going to be much longer, but I'm still not completely happy with the rest. So I decided to cut it here and workshop the rest for the next chapter. Mostly because it's been a while since the last update and I wanted to do something so as to prove that I'm not dead yet.


	21. Chapter 21

S.R: Well… Here it is. What are you doing still reading this. Just get on with it already!

* * *

"Gramps, I know you don't want to leave this to us, but someone has to tell the council about what's happening."

Erza, Mira, Cana, and Lucy all looked towards Natsu in confusion after he spoke. Makarov closed his eyes as he thought about it.

"Fairy Tail is usually at the top of the council's shit list, so if we don't do something to placate them at least somewhat, They will use this to screw us over. As the guild master and a Wizard Saint you have the most sway with them."

Because he had a point, Makarov sighed as he nodded, reluctantly agreeing with Natsu. Though he did turn to Erza and Cana as he stood up.

"Do not, I repeat, do not, push yourselves. Natsu is the only one allowed to clash with Jose should he appear."

He glared at Erza as he spoke. While he didn't doubt any of the mages in his guild, Makarov knew Natsu was the only person present that could fight with Jose that wouldn't get killed in the end. Not because Natsu would win, but because he was the only one that had the endurance needed to survive an all out fight against one of the Wizard Saints.

When the red head nodded he turned to Natsu. Neither one of them said anything, as they silently communicated through their eyes. Minutes passed as the silence caused the others to shift in their seats uncomfortably. Satisfied that they both understood what was going to happen, Makarov sighed once again.

With that he left the room. Closing her eyes in thought Erza stood up and started pacing as she tried to come up with a decent battle plan. Cana and Mira both moved towards Lucy who was still crying and blaming herself for what was happening.

"Lucy listen to me. It isn't your fault."

Mira tried to say. But her words had no effect. Cana however didn't bother trying to say anything just yet. Instead she pulled the blond into a strong hug. She let Lucy bawl her eyes out for a few minutes, knowing it would help her calm down enough to pay attention and listen.

"I can't convince you not to feel guilty. I can't convince you that you shouldn't worry. Not until we've gotten through all of this safely. So instead I'll say this. No matter what you are part of Fairy Tail. Let's get through this fight with Phantom Lord, then if you still feel bad about it, I'll go with you to confront your old man. Until then however I ask that you trust us and have faith in our bonds."

Her eyes were still glistening slightly as she looked at the brunette's face, but Lucy slowly nodded. Turning towards Mira, Cana motioned for her to take over now. Since Lucy was their target, Mira lead the blonde out of the room, escorting her to a safe house where they could hide until Phantom Lord had been dealt with.

As they left Natsu and Cana shared a look as Erza slammed a gauntlet clad fist down on the table that they'd been sitting around.

"We don't know what all they have up their sleeves, so there isn't really much to do in preparations."

She growled out angrily. Natsu just rolled his eyes.

"Calm down. We have a few tricks up our sleeves too."

Erza narrowed her eyes at him, slightly confused but mostly angry about how nonchalant Natsu was being. Luckily Cana knew what her boyfriend was talking about.

"First things first, set up an overlook spot where Warren can hang out. As a **Telepathic** magic user he needs to be able to see everything so he can relay info."

**A Short While Later**

Erza, Cana, and Natsu stood in front of the guild hall announcing the plans to the rest of the guild. Warren was tasked with keeping an eye on what was going to be refereed to as the battlegrounds. Bisca and Alzack were told to act as his support, since they were the best snipers in the guild. Laki was in charge of creating barriers to prevent the town from getting dragged into the fight, with her **Wood Make** magic. Though in order to give them the space needed to fight Erza did send someone to the mayor's office to explain things and have them start a 'Gildart's Shift'.

Erza was busy giving an empowering speech after giving the basic outlines of their plans to the guild when they felt the ground rumbling beneath them. Just on the edge of his vision heading towards the town from the not too far off coastline, Natsu noticed a large figure moving towards them.

"Shit…. ERZA GET OVER HERE!"

Noticing the tone, the red headed knight sped towards her fellow S-class members of Fairy Tail.

"I don't think they're going to play by the rules we thought they were."

Natsu commented pointing to the distance. At that point he could see it clearly with his sharp eyes, and it was finally close enough for the others to be able to see it as well.

"Is that-"

"Yeah it's Phantom Lord. Their actual headquarters to be precise."

Erza and Cana both closed their eyes and sighed heavily at that.

"They really aren't going to play by the rules are they?"

The brunette asked despite already knowing the answer.

"Considering they've got a massive, f-off canon pointing right at us? No."

Erza's head snapped towards the pink haired man at that. Her voice was low and worried as she spoke.

"Canon? Oh no… Don't tell me Phantom Lord has a Jupiter Canon."

Instead of verbally replying Natsu just nodded his head. So Erza sighed heavily again. A moment later she activated her magic and summoned forth her **Re-equip: Adamantine Armor**.

"It'll probably take me out of the fight, but I can block it."

Stepping forward to find the best spot to defend the town from Phantom Lord's trump card, she was surprised when Natsu's hand pushed her back.

"Erza, I'd be too drained to take Jose on if you get taken out of the fight. Cana has to stay here to manage the others, and Gray won't be enough back up in there. I need you to stay in the fight as long as possible."

"We don't have another choice!"

But by the time Natsu had finished speaking Cana had figured out what Natsu was planning. Dragging the red headed woman back towards the guild hall she smiled.

"It'll be fine Erza. Natsu can actually cut loose for once. We just have to get Macao ready to give Natsu a top up."

Since Cana was smiling Erza relented. While it was true everyone in the guild knew Natsu was powerful, Cana was the expert on her boyfriends strength. If she said Natsu could do it, then he could, and Erza wasn't going to argue.

"Change in plans guys. Natsu's gonna get first crack at them, but once's he's done he'll need a refill Macao."

The brunette called to the assembled guild members as they returned to the remains of the ruined guild hall. Gray just groaned, a little frustrated that Natsu was taking the lead. Some of the other members tried to argue against the idea, as by that point Phantom Lord's guild hall had gotten close enough that they could see the canon that was being pointed at them.

Standing a few feet away from the cliff-side looking out to sea Natsu was ready for it, ignoring the calls from his fellow guild members as Phantom Lord's guild hall stopped moving.

"MAGES OF FAIRY TAIL. HAND OVER LUCY HEARFILLIA, AND YOU'RE DEATHS WILL BE SWIFT. SURRENDER AND YOU WILL HAVE PAINLESS DEATHS."

The booming voice of Jose Porla echoed out from Phantom Lord's guild. Despite the fact that they were able to see that Jose was pointing a freaking Jupiter Canon at them, most of Fairy Tail chose to flip Jose the bird as their response, though they knew he couldn't see it.

"Piss off asshole!"

Natsu responded angrily, knowing that Jose was saying give up and die or fight and be tortured, neither of which made him feel anything but hatred towards the man.

"YOUR FATES ARE SEALED THEN. FIRE THE JUPITER CANON!"

Massive amounts of magic began to be drawn through the air towards the end of the canon that was pointed towards them. A few people began to panic, worried about what to do. But Cana just smiled, causing most of the guild to look at her as if she'd grown another head.

After a few moments the burst of magical energy was launched towards them. But an ungodly wave of heat washed over them, causing most of the guild to look towards Natsu. Cana was the only one not confused to see the red flames he was creating, as only a small handful of people knew that his orange fire was not his real magic.

"**Fire Dragon King's ****Secret Art: Wrathful ****Monarch's**** Roar**."

With that cry, a plume of flames burst forth from Natsu. It met the magical shot from the Jupiter Canon, and a second later began to rip through it, growing larger and larger as it continued on towards Phantom Lords headquarters.

The heat alone caused the canon to melt, and when it impacted with the building itself, everyone watching could see the tremor. The few Phantom Lord mages that had been brought by their guild master for this fight panicked as the building started to fall apart. Jose had to grab the wall to support himself as his guild was attacked. Though another reason was the unholy anger he was feeling at being denied what he wanted. His eyes narrowed into slits as he stared towards the pink haired man that dared to disobey him. '_The walls were made of densely packed magical stones, stones that could absorb the magic from a Jupiter canon and become even harder. Yet he can still destroy them… I. Will. Kill. Him!'_

By the time Natsu's attack ended, and the cloud of dust kicked up by it's impact on the building faded, everyone could see straight through it. The pink haired Dragon Slayer had blasted a hole straight through Phantom Lord's headquarters.

Without waiting to see what was going to happen next Natsu walked back to the guild smirking heavily as he moved.

"What the fuck!?"

"How the hell are you that strong?"

"Why haven't you used those red flames before?!"

Random Fairy Tail members shouted out as he rejoined them. Natsu however just walked right up to Macao.

"I need at least a little bit of a top up in order to get over there."

His voice drew the older fire mage out of the stupor he'd gone into upon seeing Natsu's massively powerful attack.

"Oh, uh right. **Purple Flare**!"

Macao responded as he pointed a finger towards the pink haired man. A stream of purple fire poured towards him as he opened his mouth and devoured it. He didn't let Macao lend him too much, since they still needed to be able to fight, so after a minute or so he signaled for the other Fairy Tail mage to help.

"Gray, Erza let's get over there while Phantom Lord is still recovering. End this before they get to make a move."

Before they could get too far however Jose's voice was heard again.

"I WAS FEELING MERCIFUL, BUT NOW I WILL UTTERLY DESTROY YOU FAIRY SCUM! GO FORTH MY ARMY OF **SHADES**!"

With that shout, a massive surge of magic was felt. Before anyone could blink, magical apparitions taking the shape of weird demon like beings began to swarm towards them. Instincts screaming at him, Natsu called out of the others.

"Don't let those things touch you. I've got a bad feeling about them!"

Cana and a couple others just nodded at him. Gray groaned and Erza shook her head to refocus herself.

"Natsu! Gray! let's move!"

With that, the three of them dashed off towards the cliff side. Natsu's counter attack had caused enough damage to create a fair bit of debris that was still falling as Phantom Lord's building shifted in place as the remains changed from the shape of a building into a humanoid one.

Knowing it was another thing they were going to have to deal with the three of them ignored it, even when an absolutely massive magic circle formed in the air behind it. Instead they used the falling debris to cross over to the building.

"Alright, because he was protecting Lucy from being kidnapped, Gramps took out Sol, one of the Elemental Four. I'm not sure who the other one was. But that means we have Totomaru of the Fire, Juvia of the Water, and Aria of the Wind to deal with. Plus Gajeel and Jose."

Erza explained, as she was the one that knew the most about the other guilds. Gray nodded his head and Natsu just snorted.

"Totomaru is mine, as I'll use him to fully top myself back up before finding Jose."

"I'll deal with the Water chick."

Gray offered. He wasn't sure how strong they were so he didn't try to say he'd take a second person on.

"Erza, speed blitz Aria if you can, and save as much of your strength and magic as you can for Gajeel. He knows not to come after me cause I won't be holding back this time, so he'll be gunning for you instead."

The pink haired man offered his friend with a nod before heading off in the direction he felt a rather familiar magical pressure from. Of course the reason it was so familiar is it somewhat matched his own, as it clearly belonged to a **Fire** elemental magic user.

Though Gray and Erza both wanted to know why Gajeel wouldn't seek out Natsu to get revenge for their last fight, they shook their heads, knowing they probably wouldn't get an actual answer.

"Well then… I'm going this way, so you can try that way Gray."

Erza said as she pointed in one direction with a glare. Despite the fact he knew she was just making a suggestion, everything about her said that it was an order. So with a sigh the **Ice Make** mage nodded before jogging down the hall way.

"Man this place is empty."

He muttered to himself, rather surprised by the lack of people. Of course he didn't know that after the stinging failure of their trap in Oak Town Jose went on a small rampage that left only his S-class able to join him in moving towards Magnolia to confront Fairy Tail.

Eventually he could tell that he was getting close to a source of water, as he could feel the moisture in the air. Opening the door in front of him he was slightly blinded by light. As his eyes adjusted he noticed a few things. Number one, was that he was now outside. Number two, was that Phantom Lord's guild hall was very interesting to navigate since he was now standing on it's left shoulder in the humanoid shape it had taken, despite the fact that he had entered around the location where it's knee was.

The last thing he noticed was the blue haired woman with her back to the door. She was containing her magic, yet he knew it was Juvia, just by the fact it was raining in a ten foot radius around her.

'_Of course, Juvia of the Water, would have water based magic. But even if she's trying to hide it, the rain is a dead give away.'_

He thought to himself as he walked closer. Somehow he just knew that a surprise attack wouldn't work. So instead he waited until she finally turned to face him.

"Drip, drip, drop. Juvia is surprised that Fairy Tail had someone capable of countering a Jupiter Canon… But Juvia can tell, you were not the one to do that, so you are no threat."

Even though her words aggravated him, Gray could tell something wasn't right. So instead of lashing out like he wanted to, he just shifted his body into a more defensive stance. The moment he did so, the magic circle in the air shimmered, as the clock hands that it projected slowed down.

"Even without Sol present we are still capable of using the building itself to cast **Abyss Break. **But for each of us Elemental Four that are defeated it slows down. Phantom Lord has severely underestimated Fairy Tail."

Snorting at that Gray finally spoke to his opponent.

"You should have expected at least this much."

"Maybe so, but Juvia can tell that Phantom Lord will still win."

**With Erza**

Agreeing with Natsu's desire for her to speed blitz Aria, the first thing Erza did after they separated was use her **Re-equip** magic to change into her **Flight Armor**, planning to use the speed boost it provided to end the fight before Aria could react.

As she traveled down the hallway she'd taken, there were spots where she could peak outside and see the massive magic circle. '_That was quick Natsu.' _ She thought to herself upon noticing that it had slowed down. Of course Erza knew what the spell was, and given her knowledge of the spell itself she had a feeling she could explain how the massive version was working.

Normally one mage, who could use each of the four basic elements could cast **Abyss Break**, so long as they were powerful enough to do so. But given the fact Phantom Lord's guild hall had shifted to take a humanoid appearance, and the fact she could feel magic all around her despite the lack of people nearby she knew the building itself was casting it. But it was linked to the Elemental four, who were lending their expertise to decrease the amount of time it would take to cast the spell.

Shaking her head, the S-class wizard continued to search for her target. Dealing with Aria was now a top priority. Though she could only hope she found Aria before Gajeel found her.

**With Natsu**

"Are you really going to try again?"

Natsu questioned without looking over his shoulder as he dropped the now unconscious Totomaru. Truthfully he already knew the real reason Gajeel had come to find him, but he couldn't resist teasing his fellow Dragon Slayer.

"Hell no. I just wanted to ask you one thing."

the voice of Gajeel the Iron Dragon Slayer responded from the shadows behind him.

"Win or lose, get away from here after you fight Erza. It'll be hard to answer your questions if your in jail."

Natsu commented in his usual confident tone. Since he said questions, Gajeel knew that the pink haired man had more insight than he would have guessed, and so he nodded, personally agreeing that the time wasn't the greatest for the discussion they were likely going to have.

Even though the Fire Dragon Slayer wasn't looking, Gajeel knew that Natsu would know that he agreed to talk later and walked off.

"whew… Between you and Macao I'm almost back to full. The question is should I top up with my lacrima, or wait and see if I need it when Jose and I get going."

Natsu muttered to himself as he looked down at Phantom Lord's most prolific **Fire** magic user.

* * *

S.R: Yeah, I know this isn't the most exciting update. Honestly considering how they played out, I decided to drop the two fights I had written, and shift the last three fights of this arc to the next chapter. So the next chapter we'll have Gray vs. Juvia, Erza vs. Gajeel, and Natsu vs. Jose. Anyway I'll see you all next time!


	22. Chapter 22

S.R: Okay, I'll admit it. I figured out the reason why I struggled with the Gray vs. Juvia fight and did the chapter for 'The Unexpected Family' instead. The reason is because, when thinking about Gray, all I could think about was his fight with Ultear. In other words I had to get that out of the way first. So now, with that settled I can present this chapter to you all. Here you go.

* * *

"**Ice Make: Sword**"

Charging in for the fifth time since he'd started the fight, Gray was tense. This Juvia woman he was fighting had very scary abilities. Considering her body was made out of water, he couldn't really do damage to her. Not only could she allow his attacks to pass right through her, but because of the rain that surrounded her she was capable of regeneration. Making any attack that actually managed to cause some of the water that made up her body to disperse worthless.

"Juvia grows tired of this. **Water Lock**"

The blue haired woman commented with a sigh as she looked away from him after reforming her body. Because she had turned away Gray didn't notice the blush that covered her face. Not that he would have understood why she was blushing without reading her mind. Then again, as dense as he is Gray probably still wouldn't have understood her thoughts.

'_He's fighting so valiantly for his friends. Plus his handsome appearance, Gray is like a prince. I must make him mine.' _Is exactly what was going through Juvia's mind before she settled on using her **Water** **Lock** spell. After all if he couldn't breathe, he'd pass out and she could hid him from Jose, allowing her to keep him alive and start a relationship with him.

But Gray wasn't one to be done in so easily. The shock of not being able to breathe did remind him of one thing. Water becomes ice when it gets cold enough. Instead of casting a spell, Gray just let his magic pour out of him in waves, causing the sphere of water that he was trapped in to become completely frozen. Then because he was physically strong enough he broke out of the prison.

Ironically at the exact moment he broke free, Gray and Juvia both noticed that Phantom Lord's guild hall was slowing down even more in its attempt to cast **Abyss Break**. The realization that she was the last member of the Elemental Four that was standing shocked Juvia enough for Gray to have an opening to capitalize on.

'_If I can freeze the water of her attacks, then I can freeze the water that makes up her body!'_ He thought to himself as he dashed towards the blue haired woman. But things couldn't go exactly as planned. Subconsciously warming up the water around her via magic as she noticed the chill, Juvia didn't allow Gray to freeze her.

In fact when she noticed what was going on, Juvia panicked a bit and unleashed a massive burst of water, that tossed Gray back.

"tch. I was so close."

The dark haired man muttered to himself as he regained his footing.

"If Fairy Tail will hand over Lucy Heartfillia, Juvia will talk with master Jose about allowing Fairy Tail to live."

Juvia commented, trying to get Gray to stand down. She really didn't want the fight to keep going, as she didn't want to hurt him.

"Hell no. Things have come too far to just end like that. Besides, Lucy is part of Fairy Tail, which makes her one of my friends. I don't give up on my friends."

Gray commented as he charged towards the blue haired woman once more, his magic quickly creating a hammer in his hand.

But Juvia had a nasty feeling, and read between the lines. The idea of Gray being close to someone else sent her into a rage. '_Juvia will not accept it. Juvia refuses to back down and let there be a love rival!'_ She thought to herself, as she decided to forcefully take Gray captive to make him hers.

"**Water Slicer**"

Unleashing a powerful blade of water towards Gray, she felt that her best chance of knocking him out was to rough him up a little. Realizing the deadliness of the attack however Gray ducked under it as he threw his hammer to distract her. Though he had to jump over another one almost instantly.

Turning sideways to dodge another blade of water, Gray saw the first one cutting through the stone that made up Phantom Lords headquarters. Eyes wide at the terror that her attack caused, Gray backed off a little bit, as he tried to come up with a plan to get in close and freeze Juvia as he originally intended. '_What can I do as a distraction.' _He thought to himself as he took his shirt off without realizing.

Juvia however couldn't help but stare when she saw his shirt come off. Gray was well built and fairly strong, but now that she could clearly see his muscles she felt a new level of appreciation for his physical prowess. However Gray mistook her admiration for shock, though he didn't know why she'd be shocked. But rather than charge in right away he decided to make a smokescreen.

"**Ice Make: Lance**!"

As he created dozens of spears out of ice and launched them at the blue haired girl, he circled around them, making sure to keep his attack between the two of them as much as possible. His plan only just worked. He got close enough to place his hand on Juvia's shoulder before she countered him.

"**Water Lock**"

Gray just barely resisted the urge to gasp as this time the water was scalding hot. Fighting through the heated water, Gray unleashed his magic as fast as he could, once more rapidly cooling the sphere into a block of ice.

But he didn't let it stop there. Inspiration had just hit him, and he figured it was his best chance to get the win. Juvia shuddered as the temperature in the surrounding air fell. As she opened her mouth to tell Gray to quit struggling she was surprised to see her breath misting up from the cool air. Stepping closer to see if she could figure out what he was doing, Juvia unwittingly stepped into the area of effect that Gray's new spell would cover.

Suddenly his voice range out "**Ice Make: ****Ice ****Geyser**!"

To her complete dismay, Juvia couldn't warm up fast enough as a pillar of ice grew around her.

**Meanwhile With Erza**

Raising a sword to block the iron spike that was coming for her once more, Erza grunted as she was pushed back. Almost exactly as she finished Aria off, she was attacked by Gajeel. She didn't know if it was poor luck that led to it, but without a chance to catch her breath, Erza had been on the defensive since the Iron Dragon Slayer made his appearance.

"Gehehe, not bad Titania. Of course Salamander put up a better fight, but that should be expected. Only slayers can keep up with another slayer when it comes to fighting."

The dark haired dragon slayer commented as he finally gave her a chance to breathe. Despite the numerous attacks he had launched at her, the man didn't look like he'd done anything. He didn't have even the slightest bit of sweat, and his breathing was the same as it was from the moment the fight started.

Not knowing just how true Gajeel's words were, Erza just growled. She refused to believe that anyone close to her in age could be so far above her in terms of power. Of course she had a newfound appreciation for Natsu's strength, but she didn't know he still hadn't shown the guild his full power.

Thinking that she had the upper hand in speed, and knowing that a long drawn out fight was a bad idea, Erza decided to change armors. To quickly take down Aria she had used her **Black Wing** armor, and she was still wearing it during Gajeel's onslaught.

"**Re-equip: ****Flight Armor**."

Sticking with her standard swords for now, just as she had to defeat Aria, Erza dashed towards Gajeel, far faster than he had been expecting. But despite the fact she got the surprise attack off it didn't do much damage at all.

"Tch. Idiot thinks she can wear me down by blitzing me with speed. I've got news for ya, Titania. As the Iron Dragon Slayer, my skin is as hard as iron without putting magic into it. Unlike the other slayers who only gain dragon scales when using their magic defensively, I get the boost passively. Of course I can strengthen that boost with my **Iron Dragon's Scales**. But if that's the best you've got I don't need 'em."

Gajeel taunted before his hand lashed out and he caught her sword mid swing. Knowing it was a bad idea to keep metal anywhere near the man, Erza quickly pulled back, not allowing him to break her blade, or even worse, try to eat it. But rather than reply Erza opened her dimensional storage with her magic. Swapping out the basic sword she was wielding, Erza pulled out the sword that went with her **Flame Empress** armor set.

Adding just a bit of magic to the blade, she smirked when Gajeel looked cautiously towards the now flaming weapon in her hand.

"It's time for round 2 then."

The red head commented before charging back into combat.

**Meanwhile With Natsu**

"You fairy scum! I will enjoy crushing you beneath my feet!"

Jose roared at him. Snorting Natsu smoothly ducked under another blast of magic from the guild master of Phantom Lord. He had yet to get serious, mostly because Jose hadn't gotten serious either. The two had thrown a few spells back and forth, not really intending to damage each other. It was more or less probing the other's defenses and attempting to provoke the other into taking things up to the next level.

Of course Natsu had a few aces in the hole, so he was fairly confident Jose was going to lose, so he wasn't really concerned when the level of magic in the room began to rise.

"It's a shame I have to kill someone with as much potential as you. But for my ambition, you must die!"

Jose snarled as his shadow rose up from the ground to envelop him.

"**Dead Wave**"

This time his shadowy attack was far stronger and faster. But Natsu consciously shifted his focus to his **Fire Dragon King** flames and made them swirl around himself protectively. A please smirk came to his face when he heard Jose stutter in shock at seeing his attack negated and absorbed by his flames.

"My turn. **Fire Dragon King's Roar**!"

Because he didn't want to risk the collateral damage reaching the shore and messing with Magnolia in any way, he limited himself to his basic spells. Yet it didn't seem to matter as the room grew hot enough that the walls started to glow as the stones grew hot.

"To think that old fool had someone this capable in his guild."

Jose muttered to himself as he only just avoided the attack. With a wave of his hand he directed his magic to approach from all directions as he gave out his command. '_**Shade Entangle**__ should be enough to help negate the threat he poses_' Jose thought to himself as he intended to use his magic's secondary ability of draining magic from those it touches.

"Jose, you really are a fool. You saw what my flames did to your magic before. Do you really think I can't do it again?"

Natsu taunted as he noticed what the man was trying to do. Rather than face the magic that was coming towards him, Natsu crouched and smashed a fist into the ground. The impact caused tremors to race throughout the building, but it allowed him to focus his magic into a pillar around him. Once more he was protected from Jose's magic by his own.

"Handy spell ain't it? **Fire Dragon King's Imperial Pillar** is one of the few spells I have that can be both Offensive and Defensive."

"Don't get Cocky brat! **Dead Wave**!"

This time, rather than just activating his magic once, Jose cast his spell three times in rapid succession. Natsu couldn't help but laugh at the foolhardy move. ' _Does he really think he can overpower my flames?'_

"**Fire Dragon King's Roar**!"

Launching a larger roar, Natsu hoped that as it absorbed Jose's magic and grew stronger it would catch the man off guard and be the first successful hit of the battle. But the older mage was quick to move out of the way.

"How?! How is a measly fairy like you strong enough to contend with me?!"

Jose roared in anger as he saw his attacks overpowered by one move. Deciding it was time to get serious Natsu narrowed his eyes as his magic condensed around him.

"**Fire Dragon King's Blazing Aura**"

With his fire wrapping itself around him as an armor of sorts, Natsu lunged towards Jose with a fist cocked back. Somehow, Jose expected Natsu's psychical ability to be weak, so as to balance out his magical prowess. So when Natsu's right fist smashed into his nose, he couldn't hide the terror from his face as he felt his nose breaking.

Capitalizing on the opening he had, Natsu forced his left fist into Jose's gut before, twisting his body sideways to rear back and lash out with his right arm once again. Not expecting to match the Dragon Slayer in a fist fight, Jose ducked under Natsu's attack and tried to retaliate with a fist completely covered in dark magic. But it did nothing. His magic canceled out by Natsu's flaming aura, and his physical strength not being enough to cause much damage. Combine that with the fact he was still harmed by the fire, and Jose quickly realized he had to push the fight back to a ranged battle if he wanted to win.

**Back With Erza**

Thanks to her flaming sword, the fight was a lot more even than when it had started, but it wasn't enough of a game changer to push things into Erza's favor. Since it wasn't as hot as Natsu's fire, it didn't bother Gajeel as much as she had hoped it would. Though she was able to break through his defenses a few times. As evidenced by the cuts that littered the Iron Dragon Slayer's arms.

"You've got to have something better than that Titania."

Gajeel commented as he once again unleashed his **Iron Dragon's Roar**. Jumping to the side to dodge, Erza was caught without a way to avoid the incoming fist. '_He tricked me into letting him get close enough to negate my speed advantage.'_ She thought to herself as she did her best to twist her body to weaken the hit as much as she could. But it was still strong enough to launch her into a wall. Luckily for the red headed knight, the building began to shake harshly enough that Gajeel stumbled and had to regain his footing rather than attempt to make a follow up attack.

Shakily pulling herself out of the indent her body had created in the wall Erza took a deep breath. Realizing that she had to completely overpower Gajeel's defenses with a decisive blow, she swapped out her armor, and her sword.

"**Re-equip: Clear Heart Clothing**"

Switching to a regular set of clothes, clothes that had no special magic properties that could be fueled by her magic, Erza took another deep breath. The sword she had brought to her side was a special one. It could only be used when her magic wasn't feeding any of her armors to allow for their special abilities. The reason? The sword in her hand was known as 'The Demon Sword, Benizakura'. It was just a regular blade, but the moment a person began to channel magic into it, the sword would absorb all of their magic, preventing them from being able to use any kind of magic at all. In exchange though, it would condense their magic along the edge of the blade. In other words, Erza had decided to forgo everything but her offensive power.

Gajeel as a dragon slayer, had sharp senses and strong instincts. So the moment he saw the blade in her hand, he knew things were about to become interesting. Grinning widely, he spread his arms out, welcoming her to attack.

"Give me your best shot Titania!"

He called, eagerly awaiting the challenge. Not holding back in the slightest Erza ran forward, taking the opportunity the Iron Dragon Slayer was giving her. Since she had brought out one of her strongest weapons, the fight would be over soon. Either she dealt enough damage to gain the upper hand, or Gajeel would overpower her. Those were the only two options left for this battle. With Benizakura drawing all of her magic, she couldn't do anything else until her magic container emptied and she could place the sword back in her dimensional storage.

But Erza was a talented swordsman, her skill allowing her to make the best of her situation. Elegantly flowing movements, would be the description Gajeel would give if he had to describe her attack. Once. Twice. Three times she slashed in the blink of an eye. Two diagonal slashes followed by a horizontal one. Blood was drawn by her attack, surprising Gajeel since he'd had his **Iron Dragon Scales** active, yet she had managed to break through them.

While the wounds weren't life threatening they were serious enough that the dark haired man had to grin. Erza had put up a stronger fight than he'd been expecting. Recalling Natsu's advice to escape so that they could meet up later so he could get some answers, the Iron Dragon Slayer backed up.

If he really wanted to he could easily keep going. But Erza had proven herself in his eyes, and from what he knew of the Fire Dragon Slayer, the fight above would be ending soon, and it would be in Fairy Tail's favor.

"Gehehehehe, you did pretty good Titania. I don't have any more time to play though, so I'll give ya this round. Next time I won't be so nice."

Carefully jumping threw the nearby window, Gajeel left the battle. Erza let out a breath in relief as she fell to the ground.

"I got lucky..."

She whispered to herself, a bit upset at the fact she had failed to get the win properly. Though some of the frustration she felt was because a part of her wanted to have enough energy left to join Natsu. Even though the guild master had forbade her from fight Jose, she couldn't help but want to help shoulder the burden of the fight. After all like master Makarov, Jose was a member of the Wizard Saints. So it would be no easy fight even if all of Fairy Tail's S-class teamed up.

Still resting on the ground was how Fairy Tail's guild master had found her.

"You did well Erza. Rest, you more than earned it."

He commanded, as he brought the tired knight back towards the ground. Even though she was expecting it, Erza couldn't help but go wide eyed when she saw Ruin Knights pitching in to help defend Magnolia from Jose's rampaging shadow army.

"Natsu's the only one over there still fighting."

She heard Gray say as Makarov set her down gently to be looked over.

A couple high ranking Ruin Knights were glancing towards Phantom Lord's guild hall with grimaces. They had clearly heard Gray's words, and based on the magic they could all feel flowing from the building, Erza could tell they were in disbelief. Natsu was holding his own while fighting a Wizard Saint.

"While I know he could handle it, I think it's time I get over there and finished this. Guild master to guild master."

Makarov commented as he left Erza sitting there, with Cana and a few others giving her a check up to see how injured she was.

**With Natsu**

Panting lightly, Natsu bit back a groan as he felt his **Fire Dragon Kings Blazing Aura** fade out. Jose was fairly roughed up, but from what he could tell, the Wizard Saint could still fight.

"Damn. I didn't expect you to have this kind of stamina."

"Running out of steam? I'll admit you put up a good fight. But in the end, a mere fairy like you couldn't stand against a Wizard Saint."

Jose Taunted before unleashing a powerful burst of magic. His attack was a new one, and Natsu was unable to avoid being hit by it.

"How do you like my **Dark Pulse**. It's one of my most powerful techniques."

Spitting, Natsu couldn't help the grin that came to his face. He knew it wasn't the best idea, but taunting the older wizard was so much fun.

"Could be stronger. After all, you still haven't hit me hard enough to draw blood."

Going red in anger, Jose gathered his magic.

"Let's see if you can still talk after this. **Death Knell**!"

Unleashing his absolute strongest attack, Jose was certain the fight was about to be over. Even if the pesky dragon slayer survived it, he'd be too weak to continue fighting. But his plan went awry. A gentle and calming light descended into the room.

"About time gramps."

Natsu called. While the old man could hear the tiredness in his voice, he knew Natsu was partially faking it. After all the pink haired man was easily strong enough to fight Jose still. While he had used up a fair bit of magic, that was mostly because the Fire Dragon Slayer had no intention of actually winning the fight.

From the very beginning Natsu had set out to drag things out so that Makarov could convince the council to step in. After all, they didn't want the Magic Council to think Natsu was capable of being a Wizard Saint just yet. He was Fairy Tails trump card, and allowing the Magic Council to have access to him as a Wizard Saint would make it hard to hid his full power for much longer.

"Ah shut up and let me finish this, brat."

Makarov commented as he came to stand between Natsu and Jose. The leader of Phantom Lord could do nothing but glare. His fight had taken far more out of him than he would have liked, and even when he was at full power he couldn't match up to Makarov. That's why he was so frustrated when his original plan to take the foolish old man out of the picture failed.

"Jose! By order of the Magic Council you are stripped of your rank as Wizard Saint. Ruin Knights are already in position to take you into custody. Surrender now."

Despite it all, Phantom Lord's guild master refused to back down.

"I'd rather die you foolish old man!"

With a heavy sigh Makarov unleashed all of his magic. Thanks to Natsu weakening Jose so severely, the pressure was enough to push the already weakened man to the ground.

"**Heavenly Restraint: Seal of Light!**"

Light pooled around Jose, before dimming down, to a dull white glowing band of magic that snaked it's way around the mans body, effectively tying him up and sealing off his magic. Even though he was sure Jose was too weak to use his counter to **Fairy Law** should he have one as Mavis had predicted, Makarov decided to do things the normal way. Even though he had the Magic Council on Fairy Tail's side this time, one wrong move would have them coming down harshly on Fairy Tail as well. So he chose to play safe rather than sorry.

"Let's go Natsu. It's time to declare the war between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord has ended."

Natsu smacked himself a few times before he moved to follow his guild master. The reason was to make himself appear far more roughed up than he was. They really wanted the council to think he had gotten lucky, and that Jose hadn't taken him seriously, so it was all to trick the Ruin Knights into reporting that Natsu was only just able to hold Jose back.

When they returned to the guild, it was only Cana's quick thinking and timely use of her **Card Dimension** spell that prevented everyone from swarming Natsu. Even though she knew it was an act, the brunette felt that her boyfriend deserved a break before everyone could rush him.

"Thanks Cana. What do you say we get a drink and kick back?"

Smiling, Cana couldn't wait to drag Natsu off for some alone time, just the two of them.

* * *

S.R: Okay, there we go. The Phantom Lord arc is over. Anyway, with everything going on I've got a lot more free time to write, and as such I'm placing this story on Hiatus. The reason? I've got a few other stories that have been kicking around in my head that I'm going to work on. Wither or not they get posted on here is a different story though. Basically I'm taking this as some 'me time'. Anyway, I'll see you guys with the next updated.


	23. Chapter 23

S.R: Guys…. Please pray that I don't loose my mind with all the ideas I keep coming up with. It is starting to scare me honestly. I'd say more but then I'll get sidetracked and I don't want to spend three hours talking about the stories I've come up with but am holding off on working on/posting them because I don't want to drive my beta reader insane. Not to mention it'd delay my two Fairy Tail stories, and considering the fact they're pretty popular I don't think that'd go over very well. Oh shit, I've already started rambling. My bad, my bad. I'll shut up now and let you get on to the story.

* * *

A few days had passed since the fighting with Phantom Lord. Natsu and Cana hadn't been apart for even a minute in that time. Of course if anyone asked why, it'd be Cana that would reply, and her answer would be "Because we haven't had a proper date thanks to all the bullshit that's been going on. I want some quality time with my man and to hell with everything else." Natsu, because he thought his girlfriend looked ridiculously sexy when she took charge would just nod his head and make an agreeing sound.

But they both had things to do, and neither one of them could stop time. So as they sat down for breakfast at the guild hall the figures of both Lucy and the guild master made their way towards the two.

"Morning Cana, Natsu."

Lucy greeted as Makarov just nodded at the duo. Since he already had a mouthful of eggs, and he didn't want to be smacked for being rude, Natsu merely tilted his head in greeting. Cana responded with a simple "Good morning."

"Umm… I don't really know how to say this. But, do you remember when you and Mira were trying to convince me that Phantom Lord's attack wasn't my fault?"

The blonde commented as she avoided making direct eye contact with the **Cards** mage. After everything she'd seen from the brunette Lucy was starting to feel a little self unconscious and nervous around her fellow mage.

"I don't recall saying it wasn't your fault, though it really wasn't. I said I couldn't convince you otherwise right then. Because you were panicking I figured you wouldn't listen to the truth until things were safe and there was no danger. Though I did say if you still were feeling down about it I'd go with you to confront your old man."

Makarov who hadn't been present at that exact moment, had a soft smile at Cana's words. She had grown into a remarkable and capable woman. Though the guild looked to Erza most of the time, Cana was still someone who could step up and take the lead when needed, and the short elderly man was proud of that fact.

Natsu wasn't really paying much attention, as he was more focused on eating, though he had an inkling on why the guild master had approached and was waiting his turn to speak.

"T-thats… Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I would like to go give my dad a piece of my mind, and I recalled you saying that. So, w-would you go with me to confront him Cana?"

"Sure. Just let me finish up my breakfast here and we can go."

Not wanting to go back on her word, and realizing that it was time for things to go back to normal Cana readily responded in agreement. Unlike her boyfriend, she was almost finished eating. Taking the last bite of her pancake, and downing the rest of her orange juice, the **Cards** mage stood up, stretched, and motioned for Lucy to lead the way.

The moment they were out of sight Makarov sat down beside Natsu with a serious look on his face.

"You haven't been by the guild since the fight, but with your senses I'm sure you've already noticed. A couple of Phantom Lords members that didn't get arrested are hanging about in town. One already approached me about joining, and the other I sought out myself."

Given what he learned about the Iron Dragon Slayer during their small confrontation, Natsu figured he was the one that Makarov went looking for.

"I take it Gajeel didn't give an answer?"

He questioned after sipping his orange juice.

"He said it depends on his talk with you. Gajeel actually asked me to tell you and I quote 'hurry your ass up and come talk to me already.' But I won't pry into your business with him."

The guild master stated. Snorting, Natsu couldn't help but shake his head.

"I'll go get your answer here after a bit. As for the one that approached you, well… Aria is a bit too cold blooded and will likely get in trouble with the magic council, and Sol… Sol is just an asshole from what I've heard. If it's either of them I'd say turn them away."

Giving his consent to the idea Makarov got up and started to head towards his office. After a few steps though he turned around.

"Since the others will be a bit wary, I'm putting you in charge of helping Gajeel get adjusted to Fairy Tail."

He wasn't sure why, but the guild master had a gut feeling that the Iron Dragon Slayer would be joining Fairy Tail.

**In Magnolia Park**

Natsu had taken his time as he made his way towards where he felt the traces of the Iron Dragon Slayer's magic. Because Gajeel would know where he was and come to him, Natsu just found a park bench to sit on. He had only been sitting for five minutes when the dark haired man approached.

"You know where the metal bastard that raised me is at."

The man commented, tone conveying that he completely believed that Natsu knew where the dragon had gone.

"I know where he is and why he's there. But it's a long story, and I have to start at the beginning for you to understand."

Natsu said, patting the bench next to him so his fellow dragon slayer would sit down.

"What do you know about Acnologia?"

He asked, starting the discussion.

"Other than the fact he's an extremely powerful black dragon? Jack shit."

"Back during the Dragon Civil War, he was a dragon slayer just like us. But he went insane and started slaughtering all the dragons he could find. Bathing in their blood sped the process up, but his magic warped his genetics making him a human turned dragon."

"What's that got to do with us?"

Chuckling, Natsu simply responded.

"Well… It was discovered that dragon slaying magic is still a form of dragon magic, and humans wielding the magic of dragons would slowly become dragons themselves. Since the dragons were worried that another situation like Acnologia would arise, they endeavored to find a way to prevent the transformation."

The Iron Dragon Slayer was starting to understand what was happening after he heard that explanation.

"That bastard didn't say a word about it to me. Hell he left without even saying goodbye."

"I don't know why your dragon didn't say anything to you about it."

"So the giant piece of scrape-metal had to go do something that is stopping me from becoming a dragon. At least now I know."

Natsu rolled his eyes, as he spoke up.

"I told you I know where he is remember? Using their magic they can create an 'antibody' so to speak, doing that they can prevent our magic from changing us into dragons. In order to do that however, they had someone seal them inside of us."

He wasn't sure why, but Gajeel knew he wasn't being lied to. That didn't stop him from twisting his head to stare at the Fire Dragon Slayer in shock. Natsu just nodded his head.

"I know how to prove it to. You just need to use a spell known as **Soul Link**. It'll let you communicate with anyone you have ever met, no matter where either of you are. I've been using it to talk with Igneel for a few years now."

Gajeel looked away, feeling embarrassed to admit how much he wanted to talk with his adoptive father Metalicanna. Despite that it was clear on his face so his expression didn't match his actions, which caused Natsu to laugh out loud.

"Come on, I'll teach you how to use **Soul Link**. Let's go find a quieter spot."

He offered, thinking it'd be better for them to move into the forest that surrounded Magnolia so there would be less people around. It would help because it meant less distractions, and because there would be no one else around to see, which would help Gajeel acknowledge his feelings.

**Meanwhile**

"How can you drink so much?"

Lucy asked as her eyes went wide. She and Cana had gone to the train station, so they could head towards Lucy's old home so she could make her feelings known to her father. But the moment they got on the train Cana headed towards it's drink station and proceeded to spend a couple thousand jewels on some alcohol.

A few dozen bottles had already been consumed and Cana wasn't even showing signs of being slightly buzzed let alone drunk like anyone else would have been.

"Apparently I take after my dad in having an abnormally strong liver. My first time drinking, I managed to out drink a few of the older guild members, and avoid getting sick or blacking out."

"You can't be fully human… No wonder you and Natsu make such a perfect couple."

Lucy mumbled under her breath, recalling the fact that Natsu could do several inhuman feats just because of his magic. Unfortunately for her Cana heard her.

"I'd take offense to that, but you said that Natsu and I are the perfect couple."

"You heard me?"

Cana just nodded her head.

"Thanks to Natsu's magic affecting both of us I do have stronger senses."

Tilting her head at that Lucy couldn't help but ask about Natsu's magic.

"Speaking of his magic… What exactly is his magic? I mean it's gotta be really amazing if he can swim in a freaking volcano."

"Well because of how large his magic container was as a baby, his birth mother had to give him away to protect him from some cult that worshiped the Black Mage, Zeref. He was found and raised by Igneel."

Since it sounded somewhat familiar from when Happy told her about Natsu's past Lucy just nodded her head.

"But Igneel isn't a regular person. In fact, he's not a human at all. Igneel is a dragon."

"No way!"

Since it was the standard response they'd get whenever someone talked about Natsu's adoptive father, Cana just rolled her eyes.

"In this era, yeah. But Natsu's mother was friends with a powerful mage who could send people through time. As a baby Natsu was sent back in time. The plan was to send him back in time before all the cults that worshiped Zeref started. So he was sent back to a time when dragons were still prevalent in Ishgar."

"I don't believe it. I mean first off if that was true, Natsu wouldn't be here right now."

Shaking her head Cana just barely repressed a snort.

"But then Acnologia became a threat to dragon kind, hunting them down and brutally slaughtering them. So the dragons made a pact with someone to protect their adoptive children. In order to do that, this person used **Time** magic to send them to the future."

Understanding now dawned on Lucy, though it made her brain hurt to think about how Natsu had gone through time not just once, but twice.

"Okay then… So you're saying Natsu's magic is special because it was taught to him by a dragon?"

Trying to get back to the main reason she wanted to know about the pink haired man Lucy inquired about his magic once again.

"Yeah. Dragon Slaying magic, is at it's core a type of **Dragon** magic. Because of that, it alters his body to allow him to safely perform his magic. His body is far more durable than a regular person, and with a certain spell he can make his skin become scales as hard as a dragons. His lungs are slightly larger than a normal persons and they are coated in magic to protect them from the heat his flames create when he breathes fire. Natsu's eyes are just as keen as a hawks, he can literally smell everything within a mile of his locations, even his hearing is stronger than a dogs."

Hearing exactly what Natsu's magic did to his body, the blonde had wide eyes.

"Because he is the **Fire Dragon Slayer**, Natsu has complete and total immunity to fire. On top of the fact his magic prevents him from feeling cold."

"How is it even possible for a human to use such a powerful magic?"

At that Cana was unable to stop herself from snorting.

"Dragon Slayer magic is thought of as a 'Lost' magic for a reason."

Since the brunette had a point Lucy couldn't really say anything. But then she remembered that her friend had said Natsu' magic affects her as well.

"Wait, you said his magic does things to you as well?"

Nodding, Cana downed another bottle of alcohol before explaining.

"Since Dragon Slayer magic makes them half dragon essentially, it also causes them to be more dragon-like. Apparently thanks to their magic dragons can do some unique things, and slayers are able to do the same."

Pausing for a moment, Cana rolled the pant leg of her capris up so Lucy could partially see the amazingly detailed dragon tattoo that covered the upper half of her calf and lower portion of her thigh.

"They are able to use their magic to mark their lover. So long as one has a mates marking, we gain similar benefits as our partners. As Natsu's mate I am far more resistant to cold than I was before, I have slightly stronger senses, and he is unable to hurt me with his magic; meaning **Fire Dragon Slaying** magic is completely ineffective on me."

Even though it looked like her words went in one ear and out the other, Lucy really was listening to Cana as she studied the tattoo that she was being shown. It seemed very tribal like, despite the fact she could clearly see little lines signifying the beasts scales. The dragon's jaw was open showing rows of sharp and jagged teeth, with flames pouring out the sides of it's maw. And the wings were drawn back, as if it was puffing out it's chest.

"This is a really amazing tattoo."

She finally commented about the marking.

"Apparently when Natsu masters his magic to a high enough level, he'll be able to use his fire to become a dragon that looks exactly like this one."

Cana blurted out. She didn't mean to mention it, since Natsu was trying to keep it a secret that he could eventually have a dragon form. Especially since only a small handful of people knew what that would mean. But she couldn't help it. The idea of Natsu becoming a dragon, that looked exactly like her mates marking, well it was extremely satisfying to her.

Luck was on her side however as the moment her mouth opened the P.A. system on the train crackled to life and drowned her voice out with an announcement that they were pulling into the station. After it cut off, Lucy stood up and stretched, while asking if Cana would repeat what she had said when the P.A. system went off.

"Oh, uh, I just said it was made by Natsu's magic in less than a second. I was so shocked that I almost slapped him when I jumped as it appeared."

The brunette lied through her teeth as she followed Lucy's lead in standing up.

**Back With Natsu**

"Holy fuck. I didn't think it'd be this easy."

Gajeel commented, surprised at how easy it was to activate the **Soul Link** spell that Natsu had taught him. Truthfully the Iron Dragon Slayer wanted to use it immediately to talk with his adoptive father. But he held back, thinking it would be better to do so when he had complete privacy.

"Yeah, it's real simple. It's not so well known because you channel magic into your head rather than out of your body like normal."

He knew that his fellow Dragon Slayer didn't care, but Natsu had to explain why it wasn't so popular of a spell, despite how easy it was.

"So what now, Salamander?"

"You're free to do whatever you want."

Snorting the black haired man spoke again.

"Bullshit. It might not have been a true fight, but you did win. That makes you the alpha. My instincts won't let me forget that. So again. What now, Salamander?"

"Well since you're acknowledging me as the alpha I guess that means we're making Magnolia into a den. Since it's just the two of us, you don't have to worry about pissing off another member of the den. So you can do whatever so long as you don't destroy anything."

With that said Natsu started to walk back towards the guild. He got three steps away before Gajeel started after him.

"I guess that means I'm taking the old man up on his offer."

**Days Later**

Because they figured out that he was the one responsible for wrecking the guild hall most of Fairy Tail cautiously avoided Gajeel after he joined, just like Makarov had predicted would happen. Natsu, Cana, and surprisingly, Erza and Levy were the only ones that actually talked with him and welcomed him.

Happy would have been included in the group that helped Gajeel get accustomed to Fairy Tail, but most of the time he was too busy munching on some fish.

Lucy was spending a lot of time with Cana and Levy after she finally spoke with her father about things. Cana, because the brunette was the one that supported her the most and was helping her grow a backbone and being more confident. And Levy, because the two had hit it off quite well, both sharing a love of reading.

So after winning some tickets to Akane Hotel and Resort, which was one of the most famous tourists vacation spots in all of Fiore, Lucy couldn't help but invite them. Gajeel was included because she had five tickets, and because Natsu didn't think the guild was ready to accept Gajeel without him around just yet.

"So are we doing two or three rooms?"

Levy asked as they checked into the resort. Natsu and Gajeel were already sniffing around and completely ignored her question. Though in their defense it was close to dinner time and they hadn't eaten yet, so they were going to be distracted by their stomachs anyway.

"Why would we do three rooms?"

Lucy asked, completely forgetting that they could divide the rooms up as Natsu and Cana in one, Gajeel in another, and then she'd share one with Levy.

"We're doing two. Natsu hasn't turned eighteen yet, and I don't want my dad killing him for breaking one of his rules just yet."

Cana answered, as she prepared to herd Natsu and Gajeel towards the two rooms so they could get ready for dinner. As she did there was a buzzing sound in the back of her head. So with a hand sign to Levy to handle things she stepped away to find an area where she could sit and have a telepathic conversation without interruption.

'_Cana, I hate to bother you while your on vacation.'_

She heard the voice of the guild master.

'_What's going on master?'_

'Well…_ Erza took on a job to deal with some pirates in the seas near where you guys are. Apparently there are several pirate crews she has to deal with. Each crew has a small territory on the ocean that they terrorize, so it's going to take her a bit more time than she originally planned.'_

'_Are you wanting us to help her deal with them?'_

Cana wondered, a bit confused on exactly what the guild master wanted.

'_No not unless she specifically asks for your help. I just wanted to ask if you'd help her find someplace to stay at. A 'base of operations' so to speak.'_

'_If that's all she needs, I'm willing to pay a bit extra for her to stay with us here at the resort.'_

Makarov had a relieved smile on his face at that. He was glad the members of his guild were so close and willing to help each other with anything they needed.

'_Thank you my child. I'll let Erza know, so you may go now. Enjoy having a few days to relax, you and Natsu have definitely earned it.'_

* * *

S.R: Okay, so we're at the Tower of Heaven arc. I could have left this arc out, but I actually kind of like it, so I did have to do a bit of playing around to find a viable reason for it to happen. Oh, and because Lucy isn't really a main character for this story, I altered how she got the tickets. She's just more prevalent right now because the Phantom Lord arc revolved around her. When it comes time to actually go to the Tower of Heaven, she'll be staying back, and we won't see her again aside from small scenes at the guild. Anyway I'll see you all next time.


End file.
